US and South Korea defense pact extends to cyberwarfare, outer space

South Korea and the US have explicitly stated that its mutual defense treaty, signed in 1953, applies to threats made in outer space and cyberspace.

The joint statement was made on Thursday in Washington, following a defense meeting between the two countries that last took place three years prior. Future cyber threats made to either country will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to see if it will trigger the defense pact.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in the press conference, “We also affirmed that attacks in space or cyberspace that clearly challenge the security of the alliance could lead us to invoke Article III of the Mutual Defense Treaty.”

The US and South Korea have previously faced large-scale cyberattacks from North Korea that would have likely triggered the mutual defense treaty.

Read more: US Treasury sanctions OTC traders for aiding Lazarus hackers

In a recent indictment, North Korean government hacking group Andariel was accused by the Department of Justice of laundering crypto ransom payments to buy infrastructure that led to attacks on two US Air Force bases, the NASA Office of Inspector General, and several South Korean entities.

South Korea and US face rising cyber threats from North Korea, Russia

The decision to define cyberspace and outer space threats in the mutual defense treaty comes amid growing concerns that Russia may be aiding North Korea with technological advancements, which would likely include cyberwarfare, in return for North Korean boots on the ground in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Growing cyberthreats from China are also top of mind. According to the Korea Herald, the US has 6,000 cyber warfare hackers — compared to China’s 100,000+ and Russia’s 200,000+.

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