South Korea and the U.S. Hold First Director-Level Meeting to Address North Korea's Illegal Cyber Activities

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 10th that the first director-level meeting between South Korean and U.S. diplomatic authorities to respond to North Korea's illegal cyber activities was held on the 9th (local time) in Washington, D.C., USA.

This meeting was arranged as a follow-up measure to the joint statement from the South Korea-U.S. summit in May.

At that time, the two leaders agreed to significantly expand cooperation to respond to North Korea's cyber threats.

Lee Tae-woo, Director of the North Korea Nuclear Diplomacy Planning Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Chung Park, Deputy Special Representative for North Korea at the U.S. Department of State, attended as chief representatives.

Officials from relevant departments of both countries responsible for North Korea nuclear issues, cyber, and virtual assets also participated.

At the meeting, South Korea and the U.S. shared the recognition that it is crucial to block North Korea's attempts to secure funds for nuclear and missile development through overseas IT workers and cryptocurrency hacking, based on close cooperation between the two countries.

Furthermore, they discussed specific cooperation measures to respond to North Korea's illegal cyber activities. The two countries agreed to hold a second meeting in Seoul at an appropriate time within this year to continue related discussions.