S. Korea: N. Korea engaging in cyber-war

SEOUL, May 5 (UPI) -- North Korea is operating a cyber-reconnaissance unit that targets South Korean and U.S. military networks, South Korean intelligence personnel said Tuesday.

The Korean People's Army has been operating for years a "technology reconnaissance team," charged with collecting information and disrupting military computer networks in South Korea and the United States, South Korean intelligence sources told the Yonhap news agency.

The team has about 100 people -- mainly graduates of a military academy in Pyongyang -- who hack into South Korean and U.S. computer networks, extract classified information and, on occasion, insert a virus into the systems, the sources told the South Korean news agency.

"This unit tries to hold control of South Korean and U.S. military information system by hacking into their computer networks and taking out classified data. When necessary, they may spread computer viruses to disrupt the networks," one intelligence official said.

South Korea and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding April 30 to boost cooperation in fighting cyber terrorism against their defense networks.