Updated May 10, 2024 1:12PM GMT+9
South Korea is enhancing its defense capabilities by participating in a US-led international cyber military exercise with the Five Eyes alliance.
On Sunday, South Korea’s Cyber Operations Command announced that nine of its personnel will take part in the “Cyber Flag” exercise, scheduled to run from May 5 to 11 in Virginia. According to the press release, 18 countries are participating in this year’s cyber military drill. The South Korean military has not disclosed the names of other participating countries beyond the Five Eyes member states: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
The Cyber Flag is an annual multinational exercise that has been hosted by the U.S. Cyber Command since 2011. Supported by the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, it seeks to strengthen cooperation and enhance response capabilities among its allies. This year marks South Korea’s third time participating in the exercise. The nation first joined in 2022, when 18 personnel from various military units participated in a drill alongside representatives from 24 countries.
The South Korean military expressed enthusiasm for the weeklong Cyber Flag training event, viewing it as an opportunity to improve their skills in analyzing and sharing information about malicious cyber activities by adversarial states. The Cyber Operations Command also highlighted that during the exercise, they will collaborate with other participating countries to enhance their proficiency in coordinated defense operations.
South Korea will now participate regularly in the military drill following an agreement with the United States guaranteeing annual participation. This decision was reached during the 55th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held in November. Following the SCM, a joint statement from South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense declared a commitment to “further deepen coordination in the defense cyber domain,” which includes South Korea’s involvement in the Cyber Flag exercise.
The Readable contacted South Korea’s Cyber Command for comment on the details of the military’s regular participation in the Cyber Flag exercise. “This is the first participation from South Korea after the two countries agreed on South Korea’s regular participation,” said an official of the Cyber Operations Command. “We acknowledge that the Cyber Flag exercise is held 1~2 times on an annual basis.”
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Notification: This article was updated to include a comment from South Korea’s Cyber Operations Command on May 8. The fifth paragraph was revised as South Korea’s regular participation was finalized at the 55th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), not at the 8th South Korea-U.S. Cyber Cooperation Working Group (CCWG).
