'N.Korea tried to steal COVID vaccine, treatment data'

ANKARA (AA) – South Korea’s intelligence agency has said North Korea tried to hack the computer systems of South Korean drug manufacturers for information on coronavirus vaccines and treatment, local media reported on Tuesday.

American firm Pfizer was among those “believed to have been attacked by the North,” Ha Tae-keung, an opposition lawmaker, told reporters after a closed-door parliamentary briefing by the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Yonhap News Agency reported.

He said the NIS reported that the average daily number of cyberattacks in South Korea increased 32% year-on-year to about 1.58 million cases, with most of the attempts being unsuccessful.

According to the intelligence agency, North Korea has “enhanced its crackdown on anti-socialist acts,” the report said.

The NIS said Pyongyang has raised the punishment for the distribution of video materials from South Korea to the death penalty, while people caught watching South Korean videos can be jailed for up to 15 years, read the report.

The agency’s briefing also touched on the public absence of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s wife, Ri Sol-ju.

According to various media reports, she has not been seen since January 2020, but the NIS said it has not collected any “unusual signs or intelligence.”

* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid