<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//NLM//DTD JATS (Z39.96) Journal Publishing DTD v1.2d1 20170631//EN" "JATS-journalpublishing1.dtd"> <ArticleSet> <Article> <Journal> <PublisherName>ejsss</PublisherName> <JournalTitle>ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES</JournalTitle> <PISSN/> <EISSN/> <Volume-Issue>Volume 5 Issue 3</Volume-Issue> <PartNumber/> <IssueTopic>Multidisciplinary</IssueTopic> <IssueLanguage>English</IssueLanguage> <Season>Dec 2024-Jan 2025</Season> <SpecialIssue>N</SpecialIssue> <SupplementaryIssue>N</SupplementaryIssue> <IssueOA>Y</IssueOA> <PubDate> <Year>2025</Year> <Month>01</Month> <Day>31</Day> </PubDate> <ArticleType>Security Studies</ArticleType> <ArticleTitle>North Korea’s Cyber Weapons Capabilities: Impact on International Security</ArticleTitle> <SubTitle/> <ArticleLanguage>English</ArticleLanguage> <ArticleOA>Y</ArticleOA> <FirstPage>452</FirstPage> <LastPage>465</LastPage> <AuthorList> <Author> <FirstName>Siddharth</FirstName> <LastName>Shankar</LastName> <AuthorLanguage>English</AuthorLanguage> <Affiliation/> <CorrespondingAuthor>N</CorrespondingAuthor> <ORCID/> </Author> </AuthorList> <DOI>10.47362/EJSSS.2024.5304</DOI> <Abstract>North Korea may be ranked among one of the poorest countries of the world in terms of its GDP growth but it still holds its relevance as a major power in the international world order, given the nuclear stockpile threat posed against the Western bloc led by the United States. North Korea’s cyber capabilities has been characterized by opportunism. Till date, there is little evidence on North Korea having a nuclear doctrine. An analysis of the statements from the leadership suggests that North Korea has a mix of grandiose and conventional ideas on the aspect of cyber operations during military conflicts. The paper attempts to examine North Korea’s cyber weapon capabilities and their potential implications for International Security through focus on three key operations – Kimsuky, Lazarus and Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) 37. These operations have targeted South Korea, parts of South Asia and the Pacific whose laggard cybersecurity mechanisms have borne heavy consequences. With regard to the diversification of cyber capabilities, the focus would be placed on North Korean regime’s use of cyber espionage and malware applications across the Korean peninsula and in particular Japan and the United States. The application of case studies where the Korean regime – backed hackers were behind significant cyber operations, most of them fatal to the international security and order.</Abstract> <AbstractLanguage>English</AbstractLanguage> <Keywords>North Korea, Cyber Espionage, Nuclear Doctrine, Malware Applications, Cyber Warfare, Opportunism, International Security</Keywords> <URLs> <Abstract>https://ejsss.net.in/ubijournal-v1copy/journals/abstract.php?article_id=15567&title=North Korea’s Cyber Weapons Capabilities: Impact on International Security</Abstract> </URLs> <References> <ReferencesarticleTitle>References</ReferencesarticleTitle> <ReferencesfirstPage>16</ReferencesfirstPage> <ReferenceslastPage>19</ReferenceslastPage> <References>FireEye Incorporation. 2018. APT37 (Reaper): The Overlooked North Korean Actor. California: FireEye. Greenberg, Andy. February 2010. “The Toolset of an Elite North Korean Hacker Group on the Rise.” Wired. Jun, J, S LaFoy, and E Sohn. 2015. 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