North Korea denies any involvement in the recent cyberattacks on smartphones of South Korean officials, calling Seoul’s accusations nothing more than slander, media reported Sunday. However, it poses threat to the South Korean vessels. North Korea has two submarine bases on the eastern coast and the submarine was believed to be operating near these bases. Attackers gained access to personal information of 40 officials.
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North Korea boasts one of the largest submarine forces in the world with an estimated 70 attack, coastal and midget submarines.
It is unclear whether the submarine sank or is floating underwater, but officials believe it experienced some type of failure. The state-run KCNA news agency warned of a “pre-emptive retaliatory strike at the enemy groups” if the exercises affected any North Korean assets. Since then, the United States has stepped up its efforts to watch as the North Korean navy looked frantically for its missing submarine.
Kim has ordered the country to improve its nuclear attack capability by conducting more tests, in defiance of a UN Security Council resolution adopted last week in response to the isolated state’s latest nuclear test. Kim also said his country had miniaturized nuclear warheads to mount on ballistic missiles, although the US and South Korean governments have expressed doubts about that too. The submarine class has not been determined yet, with North Korea choosing to remain mum on the issue.
North Korea has lost a submarine during an exercise off the country’s east coast.
The exercise involved 17,200 soldiers-12,200 U.S. troops and 5,000 South Korean soldiers-at the southeastern port of Pohang, a South Korean defense ministry spokesman said.
North Korea has recently stepped up its cyber attack efforts against South Korea and succeeded in hacking the mobile telephones of 40 of its national security officials, said members of parliament who received a closed-door briefing by the country’s spy agency.
Pyongyang added it planned to respond to the drills with an “operation to liberate the whole of South Korea including Seoul” with an “ultra-precision blitzkrieg”.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also claimed scientists had developed nuclear warheads small enough to fit on ballistic missiles.
