US, South Korea pledge defense of critical infrastructure

The United States and South Korea have reached agreements on a broad slate of cyber security issues during President Park Geun-hye’s three-day visit to Washington.

{mosads}“Our affirmation of the applicability of international law and support for these voluntary norms is crucial to increasing transparency and stability among all nations in cyberspace,” the two nations said in a joint statement Friday.

The U.S. and South Korea pledged to deepen military-to-military cooperation in fighting cyber crime and to boost threat-information sharing — particularly as it concerns critical infrastructure.

The leaders also agreed that the two nations would both comply with requests for assistance in investigating cyber crime and cyber terrorism and help to “mitigate such activity emanating from its territory.”

The new agreements follow high-level meetings held last May, when Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Seoul.

The U.S. and South Korea pledged during those meetings to strengthen cybersecurity coordination, as North Korea peppers its neighbor and the U.S. with a growing array of digital attacks.

Indeed, North Korea’s capital Pyongyang has been an increasing irritant to both the U.S. and South Korea.

North Korea was blamed for carrying out the devastating attack on Sony last fall that wiped the film studio’s computers in retaliation for the comedy “The Interview,” which depicts the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Pyongyang was also reportedly behind the recent hack into the network of a South Korean state-owned nuclear power company.

Experts say that the U.S. grid is deeply vulnerable to cyberattack. A March analysis found that parts of the U.S. power grid are attacked online or in person every four days.

National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers told lawmakers last fall that China and “one or two” other countries would be able to shut down portions of critical U.S. infrastructure with a cyberattack.

The U.S. and South Korea pledged Friday that neither will conduct such attacks on critical infrastructure.

“The United States and [the Republic of Korea] share the view that in cyberspace, just as elsewhere, states have a special responsibility to promote security, stability, and economic ties with other nations,” the joint statement read.