But they spike especially when Washington and Seoul stage what they say are annual defensive springtime war games.
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The announcement came a day after North Korea warned of pre-emptive nuclear strikes in response to the start of U.S.-South Korean military drills it views as a rehearsal for invasion.
North Korea has hacked the smartphones of senior government and other officials in South Korea, the National Intelligence Service here said on Monday.
South Korea’s spy agency said it would hold an emergency cyber-security meeting today to check readiness against any threat of cyber attack from the North, after detecting evidence of attempts by the North to hack into the South’s mobile phones.
The U.S. State Department has urged North Korea to stop its threat of preemptive strikes.
“North Korea has a thriving black market on everything from computers to cognac”, said the former defense chief.
It is one of the few projects that Seoul has maintained with the North despite sanctions on most cross-border exchanges.
South Korea said Tuesday it is imposing unilateral sanctions on North Korea over its recent nuclear test and rocket launch, including a ban on financial dealings with 40 individuals and 30 entities.
A spokesperson said: “The development of the situation on the Korean peninsula and around it is causing a growing concern”.
“We consider the public statements (by North Korea) threatening its adversaries with “pre-emptive nuclear strikes” to be completely unacceptable”, the ministry said in a statement.
The operation, dubbed the largest ever military exercise, could see a staggering 17,000 American troops and more than 300,000 South Koreans take part.
“North Korea has been mounting a series of attacks against our cyberspace” following its nuclear test on January 6, the statement said, adding that they appeared to have been preparation for a major cyber assault on South Korea’s banking network.
Similar nuclear threats by the North were made in 2013, around the time of the springtime military drills, after the United Nations sanctioned the North over a nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.
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Independent experts have frequently questioned China’s resolve to enforce sanctions against North Korea, whose economy is heavily dependent on China.
