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SCMP’s Asia desk

A Russian hacking group has launched cyberattacks on South Korea’s critical infrastructure in apparent retaliation for Seoul’s proposal to send military officials to Ukraine to track North Korean troops involved in Moscow’s war effort.
Z Pentest claimed it gained access to equipment at a warehouse that stored Ukrainian grains in the city of Naju in South Jeolla province.
The gang shared a video on social media supposedly showing how it breached the granary’s electronic controls for loading grain elevators, saying they “were loaded for a very long time, and then just poured tonnes of grain onto the ground”.
“We left all the equipment turned on at full power,” it said in a post last week.
Z Pentest also targeted a cultivation and irrigation system at an unnamed location in South Korea.
“Our specialist just turned everything off. Let them dry up,” the alleged cyber criminals said on Wednesday.

The group said South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun’s support for dispatching military experts to Ukraine to monitor the actions of North Korean troops prompted it to wage the cyber intrusion.
More than 10,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia to support its war against Ukraine, Seoul and Ukrainian officials have said.
Ukraine said on Tuesday that its troops engaged North Korean units for the first time in Russia’s Kursk border region, which Kyiv’s forces had occupied.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov told South Korea’s public broadcaster KBS that the stand-off was “small” and the number of North Koreans deployed could rise in the coming weeks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the first battles with North Korean soldiers have “opened a new chapter of instability in the world”.
South Korea has said it is reviewing whether to send weapons directly to Ukraine in response, a move it has resisted so far due to long-standing domestic policy that prevents it from providing arms into active conflicts.

Meanwhile, the South Korean defence ministry’s website encountered service disruptions after it came under a cyberattack on Tuesday.
A ministry official said the portal was back online on Wednesday and an investigation has been initiated to identify the suspects, Yonhap reported.
South Korea’s cybersecurity watchdog on Monday urged local institutions and businesses to boost their data protection readiness to reduce risks following the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia.
In February, Microsoft said state-backed hackers from Russia and North Korea have been using the US company’s artificial intelligence tools to strengthen their spying capabilities. The company added it had blocked such groups to prevent them from accessing the technology.


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Ukraine war

South Korean facilities attacked by Russian hackers over plan to track North’s troops

Computer code on a screen with a skull representing a cyberattack. Photo: Shutterstock

A TV screen in Seoul showing reportedly North Korean soldiers getting supplies from Russia. Photo: AP

The ruined Ukrainian town of Vovchansk, Kharkiv, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Photo: AFP

North Korea succession speculation swirls as Kim Ju-ae steps into the spotlight

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Ju-ae visit the Central Cadres Training School of the Workers’ Party of Korea last month. Photo: KCNA via KNS/AFP 

A picture released by the North Korean state media in September last year shows Kim Jong-un and his daughter at a parade. Photo: KCNA/dpa

Kim and his daughter Ju-ae (middle) watch a test-launch of a nuclear-capable Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in December last year. Photo: KCNA/KNS/dpa

Kim and his daughter attend a missile test at an undisclosed location in North Korea last November. Photo: KCNA/dpa

Is North Korea’s latest missile test a distraction from troops supply to Russia?

An image released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Thursday shows the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile during a test-fire at an undisclosed location in the country. Photo: KCNA via KNS / AFP

A man watches a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on Thursday. Photo: AFP

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un (left) visiting a strategic missile base at an undisclosed location in the country. Photo: KCNA via KNS / AFP

South Korea mulls missile aid for Ukraine amid fears about North Korean troops in Russia

South Korea is considering supplying Ukraine with retired HAWK surface-to-air missiles, amid concerns that North Korean troops could be deployed to fight for Russia. Photo: Wikipedia

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has warned of a “grave situation” if North Korean forces join the conflict in Ukraine. Photo: EPA-EFE/Pool

A TV screen shows an image of soldiers believed to be from North Korea standing in line to receive supplies from Russia during a news programme at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on October 21. Photo: AP

The Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK is an American medium-range surface-to-air missile. Photo: Wikipedia

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) welcomes North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui during their meeting in the Moscow on January 16. Photo: EPA-EFE/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool

North Korean troops willing to ‘fight and die’ for Russia alter Indo-Pacific security balance

North Korea has reportedly sent thousands of troops to Russia for possible deployment in Ukraine. Photo: AP

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (right) and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ride a car in Pyongyang in June. Photo: KCNA via Reuters

Russian troops’ frustrations at North Korean fighters caught on intercepted communications

North Korean soldiers during a mass rally in Pyongyang. Photo: AFP/Getty Images/TNS

A handout from South Korean intelligence purportedly showing North Korean personnel at a Russian military facility. Photo: AFP

Members of the Korean Vietnam War Veterans Association protest in Seoul against the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia. Photo: AP

This Week in Asia

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The hackers say its actions were due to Seoul’s plan to send military experts to Ukraine to monitor North Korean troops in Russia


The hackers say its actions were due to Seoul’s plan to send military experts to Ukraine to monitor North Korean troops in Russia.
