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From VOA Learning English, |
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this is the Technology Report. |
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North Korea is often seen as a poor country, |
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cut off from the world |
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and technologically out of date. |
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But officials in South Korea |
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have linked North Korea to recent attacks |
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on computers and computer information systems, |
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and they described the North's ability |
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to carry out such attacks as world class. |
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South Korea's spy agency |
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recently made the claims at a meeting |
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with a committee of the South Korean National assembly. |
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The national Intelligence Service(NIS) said |
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North Korea has trained what the NIS calls a cyber army, |
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these computer experts can affect |
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the electronic communications and records of individuals, |
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businesses and even governments. |
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The NIS described seven North Korean hacking organizations |
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and the group of spies operating in China and Japan. |
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It noted that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says |
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cyber warfare is just as important as missiles and nuclear weapons. |
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Seo Sang-ki is chairman of the assembly's Intelligence committee. |
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He says North Korea established its hacking point in China |
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because it just across the border |
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has a highly developed Internet service |
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and its activities can be protected. |
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He says there appears to be about 1,700 North Korean hackers |
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and 4,200 supporting agents operating in China. |
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That number, he says, is increasing. |
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He says they earn money by developing software in China |
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and perform hacking activities |
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to collect national industrial secrets. |
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The NIS confirmed a report that North Korea |
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opened the private documents of a South Korean IT company |
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that was stored in China. |
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In October, South Korea's KBS TV reported |
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that the attack may have been an effort to steal information |
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from Seoul's computer networks. |
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Mr Seo would not name the company, |
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and identified it only by using the letter "S." |
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China usually denies the cyber attacks |
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are launched from its territory. |
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Kim Hung-kwang is president of the group |
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North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity. |
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He says China knows that North Korean hackers |
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launch attacks from inside China. |
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But he notes that China has never arrested |
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or expelled any North Koreans. |
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He says that is why it appears North Korea |
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is carrying out the attacks under China's approval. |
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North Korea is believed responsible for attacks |
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earlier this year that affected tens of thousands of computers. |
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South Korean officials say the economic cost |
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was estimated at $800 million. |
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And that's the Technology Report from VOA Learning English. |
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I'm Milagros Ardin. |