Seoul claims North Korea compromised South Korean chip equipment manufacturers.

According to the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Pyongyang is attempting to manufacture semiconductors for its armaments programs. It happens one month after President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a warning that North Korea would use provocations, such cyberattacks, to sabotage future elections. North Korea breached the emails of President Yoon’s assistant the previous year. “We believe that North Korea might possibly be preparing to produce its own semiconductors in the face of difficulties in procuring them due to sanctions,” the NIS stated in a statement. It further stated that Pyongyang’s attempts might be motivated by its desire to obtain chips for its arsenal of weapons, which includes missiles and satellites.