[Anchor]
North Korea, maintaining silence over an 8.4 trillion-won hacking incident, has not denied involvement either. South Korea's military estimates North Korea's cyber warfare personnel at around 8,400, and it is reported that the country's brightest minds are groomed into hackers.
Reporter Kim Ayeong reports.
[Reporter]
A man in military uniform with a badge pinned to his chest appears to be working at a computer.
This is video footage released by an overseas cybersecurity YouTuber who claims to have successfully hacked into the computers of North Korean soldiers.
On social media, videos shared by foreign hackers can also be found claiming to capture verbal sparring with North Korean cyber operatives.
[("How did you track my IP?") "Why don't you go ask Kim Jong Un."]
South Korea's military estimates that North Korea's cyber personnel, including hackers operating both domestically and abroad, stood at approximately 8,400 as of 2024, up 20% in two years.
The exact number of individual hacking groups identified abroad—such as Lazarus and Kimsuky—and their specific sizes remain shrouded in secrecy.
[Kim Heung-gwang / Former North Korean Professor of Computer Engineering: "Because they operate within Russian territory, tracking them down is even harder. Just as countless worker bees swarm around a queen bee, mathematicians join, and international financial experts also join around a few truly brilliant hackers."]
General Secretary Kim Jong Un is known to have emphasized cyber capabilities alongside nuclear missiles as the so-called "two treasured swords" since the early days of his rule.
[Lim Jong-in / Distinguished Professor at Korea University Graduate School of Information Security: "(North Korea) is cultivating 100 elite hackers every year. In our terms, students of the caliber who could enter Seoul National University College of Medicine are all being trained as cybersecurity hackers."]
In July, General Secretary Kim announced plans to expand the functions and duties of the Reconnaissance Information General Bureau under the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, which is cited as directing the hacker units.
North Korea, however, has yet to offer any response to the FBI naming it as the culprit behind the Binance incident.
Video by Lee Seung-jin | Video courtesy of YouTube @Deeveeaar
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