South Korea is currently chairing the United Nations (UN) Security Council for June. South Korean government is using this to raise awareness about cyber threats such as North Korea’s infrastructure hacking and theft of virtual assets.
According to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the 18th, Cho Tae Yul, Minister of Foreign Affairs, will visit the UN Headquarters in New York from the 19th to the 22nd to preside over an official meeting convened as the chairman of the Security Council. The main event is an open discussion on cybersecurity, which will take place on the 20th.
This is the first public discussion on cybersecurity to be held in person. Estonia had a similar discussion in 2021 when it served as the chair country, but it was conducted virtually due to COVID-19 prevention measures.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains that the purpose of the public discussion is to form a consensus on the importance of cybersecurity, given the insufficient focus on cybersecurity in the Security Council. It is widely known that the limited discussions on cybersecurity in the Security Council are mainly due to opposition from Russia and China. Both countries argue that cybersecurity should be discussed in the Security Council only when necessary since it has already been addressed in the UN General Assembly. However, many analysts believe this is because they have been actively involved in cyber attacks themselves.
Meanwhile, South Korea is holding an in-person public discussion on cybersecurity to counter Russia and China’s opposition and urge the Security Council to address cyber threats. It is particularly expected to highlight concerns over cyber attacks from North Korea, which pose a direct threat to South Korea.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official stated, “Although it is challenging to achieve meaningful outcomes related to cybersecurity in the Security Council due to opposition from certain countries, we aim to highlight the need for the Security Council to play a proactive role in cybersecurity,” adding, “While discussing the necessity of Security Council responses to cybersecurity threats, we acknowledge that North Korea’s malicious cyber activities are a major concern, which may lead to specific countries being mentioned during the discussions.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is reportedly collaborating with the National Intelligence Service regarding North Korean cyber threats in preparation for this public discussion. It is observed that cases of North Korean cyberattacks could be collected and introduced in public talks to raise criticism.
Meanwhile, since the public discussion allows the Security Council member states and all UN member states to participate,
the North Korean ambassador to the UN can also participate. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it is difficult to gauge whether North Korea’s envoy will attend.
