Hackers from inside North Korea managed to steal covert war-plans from the United States and South Korean militaries in recent months, including a joint plot to assassinate dictator Kim Jong Un should war erupt on the peninsula.
According to the BBC, Rhee Cheol-hee –a South Korean lawmaker- confirmed the cyberattack, saying troves of covert military plans were illegally stolen from the Defense Ministry’s computer servers last September.
The legislator said over 235 gigabytes of military data had been compromised, including a secret plot to take out the North Korean despot if a nuclear launch was deemed inevitable.
Pyongyang denies the allegation, calling South Korea’s claims a “fabrication.” Mr. Lee, a member of his parliament’s Defense Committee, refused to elaborate further on what specific documents were compromised, but said US military plans were included in the breached material.
News that Kim likely has access to top-secret US military operations sent alarm-bells ringing throughout Washington and the region at large; raising the stakes as tensions between the two nations continue to escalate.
The President increased his pressure on the communist nation Monday, saying that 25-years of diplomacy and negotiations with North Korea had failed, pointing out that “only one thing will work.”