1. The 1st
ROK-U.S. Working Group Meeting on the DPRK Cyber Threat was held in Washington
D.C. on August 9.
° The Meeting was
held to follow up on the ROK-U.S. Leaders’ Joint Statement of May 21 in which
the two Presidents agreed to significantly expand cooperation to confront a
range of cyber threats from the DPRK.
° The Meeting was
headed by Lee Taewoo, Director-General for North Korean Nuclear Affairs,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, and Dr. Jung Pak, Deputy
Special Representative for the DPRK, U.S. Department of State, respectively.
The Meeting also brought together related government officials of the two
countries in charge of the North Korean nuclear problem as well as cyber and
cryptocurrency issues.
2. At the Meeting,
the two sides reached a common understanding that close coordination between
the two countries is crucial to block the DPRK’s attempts to generate hard
currency for its nuclear and missile programs through overseas IT workers and
cryptocurrency heists. The two sides discussed how they could work together
specifically to respond to the DPRK’s illicit cyber activities.
3. The two sides
agreed to engage in further discussions by holding the 2nd Working
Group Meeting in Seoul at an appropriate time within the year.