Northeast Asia Matters carries two whole stories in the South Korean press, one from Sam Kim at Yonhap, and another from Choson Ilbo about possible DPRK hacking operations on OPLAN 5027. The ROK Ministry of National Defense is investigating a system breach that contains portions of OPLAN 5027, a joint US-ROK deployment plan of 700,000 US troops in the event of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula. Since skeletal details of OPLAN 5027 were announced, and finalized with Secretary Gates’ and President Obama’s recent visits to East Asia, the North Korean press has regularly pilloried what is otherwise routine contingency planning between two allied countries. One Minju Joson editorial commented: “The completion of the “OPLAN 5029″ proves that the moves of the U.S. and south Korean warmongers to launch a war of aggression against the DPRK have already gone beyond the danger line. Reliance upon foreign forces and confrontation with fellow countrymen lead to self-destruction. The south Korean military authorities would be well advised not to add to the crimes already committed against the Korean nation.”
If it turns out the DPRK has successfully hacked (perhaps, once again) into the ROK’s security services computers, the North Koreans may have another useful (and potentially more lethal) product to export in light of the recent seizure in Thailand. Is this is what Kim Jong-il means when he refers to “the IT age” in his inspection tours?