S. Korea joins US-led multinational cyber defense drill

(Cyber Operations Command)

South Korea’s Cyber Operations Command plans to participate in Cyber Flag, a multinational cyber defense exercise hosted by the US Cyber Command, the Defense Ministry said Monday.

The training is scheduled from Monday to Friday at the US National Cyber Range Complex in Virginia.

A team of seven personnel from Seoul's Cyber Operations Command will take part in the drill to strengthen their response capabilities against cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure and share cyber threat intelligence with participating countries.

The South Korean military has participated in the exercise annually since 2022, following an agreement reached at the eighth South Korea-US Cyber Cooperation Working Group meeting in May 2023 and reaffirmed at the 55th Security Consultative Meeting in November of the same year.

Launched in 2011, Cyber Flag is an annual exercise aimed at strengthening partnerships between the United States and its allies, particularly the Five Eyes intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“The Cyber Flag exercise, along with bilateral drills between South Korean and US cyber commands and exchanges of cyber experts and technologies, will further deepen cyber cooperation between the two countries,” Seoul's ministry said.