S. Korea to tighten security rules for drones, undersea cables

South Korea will tighten security regulations for drones, undersea cables and offshore wind power plants to mitigate security and supply chain risks to major infrastructure, the presidential office said Monday.

Wang Yun-jong, third deputy national security adviser, led an intragovernmental meeting with 13 agencies to discuss potential security threats to key infrastructure and draw up integrated responses.

"Reliance on foreign imports for key drone components could lead to supply chain risks due to export controls in the event of a contingency, as well as security concerns, such as information leaks," the office said in a release.

The participants discussed strengthening the drone industry's procurement system and improving information protection certification, and introduced integrated responses to protect industrial complexes near oil, gas and power plants from potential drone attacks.

They also agreed to designate major landing stations, which connect undersea communication cables and land-based communication networks, as national security facilities to protect them from potential security risks.

"Undersea communication cables are exposed to various risk factors, including intentional damage by malicious forces, physical severance due to geographical factors and cyber attacks aimed at stealing data," it said.

The latest move is seen as a response to growing security risks to global undersea infrastructure, following the sudden disruption of two undersea internet cables in the Baltic Sea last month -- one linking Lithuania and Sweden, and the other connecting Finland and Germany. (Yonhap)