SEOUL -- The Defense Ministry convened an emergency meeting Friday of military officials in charge of cybersecurity amid growing threats from North Korea.It was to discuss ways to deal with the North's possible cyber attacks anytime soon, ministry officials said. Vice Defense Minister Hwang In-moo presided over the session held at a video conference room in the ministry's building in central Seoul.
Recently, the secretive North has especially sought to hack the smartphones of South Korean military commanders and top government officials on national security, according to the South's state intelligence agency. The agency was quoted as telling lawmakers that some attempts were successful.
The military has already raised the stage of "INFOCON," which is an information-related defense alert system, by one notch.
"Establishing a firm cyber security posture in the national defense field is an important task at a time when North Korea, which has more than 6,800 in manpower for a cyber warfare, uses the asymmetrical means of cyberattack," said the ministry.