North Korea has recently increased both ballistic missile tests and military activities. Moreover, Pyongyang’s nuclear tests, as well as missile tests, gained momentum. These concerns deepen the security concerns and thus the security dilemma in the Asia-Pacific region.
The nuclear threat posed by the country in question was met in the form of isolating the country from the international system. Because the continuation of Pyongyang’s activities also makes it difficult to solve this problem. As a matter of fact, the name of North Korea, which has been somewhat isolated from the global conjuncture, has started to be mentioned more and more with illegal activities. As a matter of fact, the theft of cryptocurrencies and allegations of spying on the blockchain is one of them. However, the allegations of illegal activity emerging through Pyongyang are not limited to this. Because it is estimated that North Korea also carries out espionage activities in many other areas.
It is said that one of them is by deceiving foreign analysts and getting various reports and analyses from them. At this point, it is claimed that North Korean spies disguised as authorized persons and sought opinions from Western analysts and experts, and then used these views in line with their own political goals. For example, United States (US) analyst Deniel DePetris received an e-mail from someone who introduced himself as Jenny Town, the director of 38 North, about the West’s ideas about North Korea and the reaction in the Asia-Pacific region might be in possible developments. He received an e-mail and then, because of his research, he realized that the person who forwarded the e-mail to him was not Jenny Town. According to three cyber security researchers who later continued their research, it turned out that the person who introduced himself as Jenny Town was a North Korean spy.[1]
At this point, it can be said that the fact that Pyongyang has started to be mentioned over the allegations of crypto asset theft, as well as the allegations of analysis espionage, is due to the isolation of North Korea from the global conjuncture. Although being an actor excluded from the international system, North Korea is an actor that draws attention and pursues proactive policies both at the regional and global levels. Because it is very important how these policies are met both in the West and in the region
Another issue that needs to be evaluated on the subject is that North Korea’s ballistic missile tests and nuclear tests may threaten regional security and cause discomfort for its ally China.
As mentioned, it can be said that this possibility is important for North Korea, which is expected to conduct a new nuclear test soon. Because Pyongyang and Beijing are allies geopolitically and geostrategically, although not geoeconomically, in their foreign policymaking and their ambitions to compete with Western hegemony. However, North Korea’s concerns about regional security could undermine cooperation with China.
In addition, the alliance with Beijing and the close foreign policy lines of the two countries are of great importance for Pyongyang, which is not included in the global system. For this reason, it can be predicted that North Korea will not want to harm that union in the short term. For this reason, Pyongyang will closely monitor the impact of its current action and the new nuclear tests that will likely be carried out soon. This also applies to allegations of espionage.
In short, it can be said that North Korea, on the one hand, is trying to fund its nuclear activities with cyber-attacks, and on the other hand, it is trying to learn how the steps it has taken and is considering take will be met by both its allies and adversaries through espionage methods. In addition, it can be argued that the Pyongyang administration is trying to learn how Beijing will respond to the military operations it plans to carry out with the help of the data it will reach.
[1] “North Korean Cyber Spies Deploy New Tactic: Tricking Foreign Experts Into Writing Research for Them”, The Aashi Shimbun, https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14791681, (Date of Accession: 17.12.2022).
