South Korea said on Tuesday that North Korea has a 6,000-member cyberarmy dedicated to disrupting the south's military and government. This figure is a dramatic increase from its earlier estimate that North Korea had a cyberwarfare staff of 3,000 people.
Seoul's Defense Ministry said in a report that North Korea may also have gained the ability to strike the United States because of its recent progress in missile technology, which was demonstrated in five long-range missile tests in 2009 and 2012, and is advancing in efforts to miniaturize nuclear warheads to mount on such missiles.
N. Korea has 'significant' technology for miniaturized nukes: Seoul http://t.co/rH2ZcPPgxc— Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) January 6, 2015
The United States has accused North Korea of a cyberattack on Sony Pictures over The Interview, the movie that depicted the fictional assassination of the North's leader, Kim Jong-un. North Korea has denied any involvement in the breach of tens of thousands of confidential Sony emails and business files.
Former South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said in 2013 that North Korea was operating a cyberwarfare staff of 3,000. South Korea accuses North Korea of conducting at least six high-profile cyberattacks since 2007 and many more unsuccessful attempts to infiltrate computer systems of businesses and government agencies.
The Korean Peninsula is still in a technical state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.