North Korea’s Cyber War: $13 Billion Secret Behind Kim Jong Un’s Weapon Development

North Korea is increasingly focused on cyber hacking attacks to fund its development of critical weapons like nuclear missiles. The country’s cyber activities, from stealing technical data from private companies to cryptocurrency theft, raise significant cybersecurity concerns.

According to a report titled “Estimation of North Korea’s Balance of Payment(BOP) Following the Intensification of Sanctions” against North Korea published on Tuesday by the Institute for National Security Strategy under the National Intelligence Service(NIS), North Korea’s cyber foreign currency earnings totaled $13.55 billion from 2017 to last year. This amount represents 21.46% of the total illegal revenue of $6.29 billion that North Korea has collected.

In March, the UN Security Council’s Panel of Experts on North Korea sanctions confirmed that North Korea earned at least $750 million last year from at least 17 cases of cryptocurrency theft, which is cybercrime, covering 40% funds of its primary weapon development, including nuclear and missile programs.

North Korea’s cyberattacks, aimed at funding its major weapon development programs, have increased significantly each year, with methods becoming more diverse. The country now poses a major threat through cyberattacks across various sectors. These include virtual asset crimes targeting major exchanges, technology theft from the survey and defense sectors, and hacking efforts directed at officials from construction, machinery, and local government entities.

With North Korea focusing on enhancing its artificial intelligence capabilities, concerns are mounting in South Korea about the potential for advanced AI technology to be used in future cyberattacks and the development of sophisticated weapon systems integrated with AI.

Recognizing the risks to national security, the South Korean government has begun to take proactive measures. It launched the National Cybersecurity Council, a government-wide consultative body, to ensure rapid cooperation in cybersecurity and established the National Cybersecurity Basic Plan.

The National Cybersecurity Basic Plan builds on the National Cybersecurity Strategy introduced in February, which outlined five key objectives: enhancing proactive cyber defense, establishing a global cyber cooperation framework, improving the cyber resilience of critical infrastructure, securing competitive advantages in emerging technologies, and reinforcing operational capabilities.

The Basic Plan comprises 100 action tasks, including 93 individual tasks and 7 joint tasks from 14 ministries. These tasks include proactive cyber defense activities to preemptively identify and eliminate online threat actors, such as North Korean hacking attempts.

Despite these comprehensive plans, some critics argue that the lack of institutional support undermines their effectiveness. Experts call for the rapid establishment of institutional mechanisms to address these issues. While North Korea’s cyber hacking remains a persistent problem, cybersecurity legislation has not gained significant traction in the 22nd National Assembly.

Attempts to enact cybersecurity laws have repeatedly failed in past assemblies. Currently, a related bill proposed by People Power Party member Park Choong Kwon requires administrative agencies to notify the National Intelligence Service of severe cyberattacks promptly.