Münzevi Krallıktan Dijital Hanedanlığa: Kuzey Kore'nin Siber Güvenlik Stratejileri ve Yapay Zeka

Öz

Bu çalışma, siber uzayda asimetrik bir güç olarak varlık kazanan Kuzey Kore’nin siber güvenlik stratejilerini ve yapay zeka ile ilişkisini incelemektedir. Kuzey Kore bağlantılı devlet destekli siber oluşumların, siber operasyonlarını daha etkin hale getirmek için yapay zeka kullanmaya başladığı yönünde tespitler mevcuttur. Kuzey Kore’nin, ‘münzevi bir krallık’ iken, dijital ortamda adından söz ettirir bir duruma gelmesi ilgi çekicidir. Son yıllarda Kuzey Kore’ye atfedilen pek çok siber saldırı faaliyeti tespit edilmiştir. Bu saldırıların Kuzey Koreli hacker gruplarından izler taşıdığı yönünde kanaatler hakimdir. Bu nedenle çalışma, Kuzey Kore’nin siber güvenlik stratejilerini yapay zeka ile bütünleştirme çabalarını, salt savunma amaçlı olarak değerlendirmemekte; uluslararası düzende hayatta kalmaya yönelik bir strateji olarak yorumlamaktadır. Çalışmanın temel argümanı, Juche ideolojisinin, ülkenin siber kapasitesini geliştirme çabalarıyla bağlantılı olduğu ve yapay zekânın bu amaç doğrultusunda bir siber araç olarak kullanılmasına imkân sağladığıdır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Siber Güvenlik
• Siber Saldırılar
• Yapay Zeka
• Kuzey Kore
• Juche

From Hermit Kingdom to Digital Dynasty: North Korea’s Cyber Security Strategies and Artificial Intelligence

Öz

This paper analyzes North Korea's cybersecurity policies and their association with artificial intelligence (AI) as it emerges as an asymmetric power in cyberspace. Evidence suggests that state-sponsored cyber groups associated with North Korea have commenced utilizing AI to enhance the efficacy of their cyber activities. It is interesting that North Korea, once a ‘reclusive kingdom’, has become a prominent name in the digital world. Nowadays, numerous cyberattacks linked to North Korea have been identified. These attacks are generally thought to have the characteristics of North Korean hacker organizations. Consequently, the study doesn’t regard North Korea's integration of AI into its cybersecurity plans as only defensive; it perceives them as a survival strategy inside the international order. The study's central claim is that Juche ideology is connected to the nation's endeavors to strengthen its cyber capabilities and make it possible to employ AI as a cyber instrument for this kind of endeavor.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Cybersecurity
• Cyber Operations
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• North Korea
• Juche

Kaynakça

1. Acevedo, M. (2023). Artificial Intelligence and Authoritarian Governments. https://democratic-erosion.org/2023/11/17/artificial-intelligence-and-authoritarian-governments/.
2. Bae, S. (2025). Hidden Enablers: Third Countries in North Korea’s Cyber Playbook. https://www.csis.org/analysis/hidden-enablers-third-countries-north-koreas-cyber-playbook.
3. Boo, H. W. (2017). An assesment of North Korean cyber threats. The Journal of East Asian Affairs, 31(1), 97-117.
4. Boulanin, V., Saalman, L., Topychkanov, P., Su, F. and Carlsson, M.P. (2020). Artificial intelligence, strategic stability and nuclear risk. SIPRI.
5. CFR. (2022, June 28). North Korea’s Military Capabilities. 7 September 2024, https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/north-korea-nuclear-weapons-missile-tests-military-capabilities.
6. Chainalysis. (2023, February 1). 2022 Biggest year ever for crypto hacking with $3.8 billion stolen, primarily from defi protocols and by North Korea-linked attackers. 7 September 2024, https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/2022-biggest-year-ever-for-crypto-hacking/ .
7. Chanlett-Avery, E., Rosen, L. W., Rollins, J. W. and Theohary, C. A (2017). North Korean cyber capabilities: in brief. Congressional Research Service.
8. Choe, S., Li, B., Ri, I., Paek, C.S., Rim, J.S.and Yun, S.B. (2018). Improved hybrid symbiotic organism search task-scheduling algorithm for cloud computing. KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems, 12(8), 3516-3541.

9. David-West, A. (2011). Between confucianism and Marxism-Leninism: Juche and the case of chŏng tasan. Korean Studies, 35, 93-121.
10. Encylopedia of Korean Culture. (2024). 9 September 2024, https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr.
11. European Parliament. (2024). Artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ATAG/2024/762292/EPRS_ATA(2024)762292_EN.pdf.
12. Fabio, R. (2018). Confronting an “axis of cyber”?—China, Iran, North Korea, Russia in cyberspace. Ledizioni Ledi Publishing.
13. Foreign Languages Publishing House. (2012). Juche idea: answers to hundred questions. Foreign Languages Publishing House.
14. French, P. (2007). North Korea the paranoid peninsula. Zed Books.
15. Gills, B. (1992). North Korea and the crisis of socialism: the historical ironies of national division. Third World Quarterly, 13(1), 107-130.
16. Ha, M. and Maxwell, D. (2018). Kim Jong Un’s ‘all-purpose sword’ North Korean cyber-enabled economic warfare. FDD Press.
17. HanVoice SFU. (2022). The past, present, and the future of North Korea’s artificial intelligence. https://sfuhanvoice.medium.com/the-past-present-and-the-future-of-north-koreas-artificial-intelligence-12eb959d3507.
18. Harold, S. W., Beauchamp-Mustafaga, N., Jun, J. and Myers, D. (2022). Will artificial intelligence hone North Korea's cyber "all-purpose sword?. KEI.
19. Hayes, P. (2005). DPRK information strategy – does it exist?. In A.Y. Mansourov (Ed.), Bytes and bullets: information technology revolution and national security on the korean peninsula, (pp. 70-99). Asia Pacific Center for Strategic Studies.
20. Helgesen, G. (1991). Political revolution in a cultural continuum: preliminary observation on the North Korean "juche" ideology with its intrinsic cult of personality. Asian Perspective, 15(1), 187-213.
21. Husenicova, L. (2018). North Korean Strategic Culture: Survival and Security. Scientific Bulletin, 45(1), 26-35.
22. Jense, T. and Liles, S. (2013). Open-source analysis of the cyber warfare capability of North Korea. Proceedings of The 14th Annual Information Security.
23. Kakışım, C. (2017). Kuzey Kore’nin resmi ideolojisi olarak cuçe öğretisi ve Kuzey Kore dış politikasına etkileri. Uluslararası İlişkiler, 14(56), 73-88.
24. Kang, J. (2019). The 4th industrial revolution and education in North Korea. ICAICTSEE (Sofia), 22-27.
25. Kang, J.G. (2019, November 1). 북한 “인공지능 시대 데이터가 금, 원유보다 중요. http://www.nkeconomy.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=2158.
26. Kang, J.G. (2024, May 21). North Korea's Kim Il Sung university information technology institute is the center of North Korea's AI research and development. http://www.nkeconomy.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=13357.
27. Kang, S.W. (2017, October 17). North Korea was once AI powerhouse. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2024/09/129_237814.html.
28. KCNA. (2004, May 20). Artificial intelligence program developed. http://kcna.co.jp/item/2004/200405/news05/21.htm#10.
29. Kim, I.S. (1973). On eliminating dogmatism and formalism and establishing juche in ideological work - speech to party propaganda and agitation workers, December 28, 1955. Foreign Languages Publishing House.
30. Kim, J.I. (1983). Let us advance under the banner of Marxism-Leninism and the Juche idea. Foreign Languages.
31. Kim, M.H. (2021). 북한 인공지능 기술의 군사화와 우리 군의 대응 무기체계 발전방향 연구. Journal of Information Technology Services, 20(1): 29-40.
32. Ko, L. (2018, June 6). North Korea as a geopolitical and cyber actor. https://www.newamerica.org/cybersecurity-initiative/c2b/c2b-log/north-korea-geopolitical-cyber-incidents-timeline/.
33. Ko, K., Jang, S. and Lee, H. (2008). .Kp North Korea. digital review of asia/pacific. Sage Publications India.
34. Kong, J., Lim, J.I and Kim, K.G. (2019). The all-purpose sword: North Korea's cyber operations and strategies IEEE.
35. Lee, G. (2003). The political philosophy of Juche. Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs, 3(1), 105-112.
36. Lee, H. and Hwang, J. (2004). ICT development in North Korea: changes and challenges. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Information Technologies and International Development, 2(1), 75-87.
37. Lerner, M. (2001). A failure of perception: Lyndon Johnson, North Korean ideology, and the pueblo incident. Diplomatic History, 25(4), 647-675.
38. Lim, E.C. (2019). 북한의 4차 산업혁명 : 대응전략, 추진방식과 성과. Donga Research Institute, 1-35.
39. Lim, T.W. (2019). North Korea's artificial intelligence (A.I.) program. North Korean Review, 15(2), 97-103.
40. Mansourov, A. Y. (2011). North Korea on the cusp of digital transformation. The Nautilus Institute.
41. Masse, B. (2023, October 18). North Korea experiments with AI in cyber warfare: US official. https://venturebeat.com/ai/north-korea-experiments-with-ai-in-cyber-warfare-us-official/.
42. Metz, S. and Johnson, D. V. (2001). Asymmetry and U.S. military strategy, definition, background, and strategic concepts. U.S. Army War College.
43. Meyers, A. (2018, April 6). Meet crowdstrike’s adversary of the month for april: stardust chollima. https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/meet-crowdstrikes-adversary-of-the-month-for-april-stardust-chollima/.
44. Ministry of Defense of Japan. (2020). Defense of Japan 2020. Tokyo.
45. Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea. (2020). Defense White Paper 2020. Seoul.
46. Musk, E. [@elonmusk] (2017, August 12). If you're not concerned about AI safety, you should be. Vastly more risk than North Korea. https://x.com/elonmusk/status/896166762361704450.
47. Naenara. (2024, December 15). 로씨야대통령 인공지능기술개발문제에 대해 언급. http://naenara.com.kp/main/search_first?sVal=인공지능&csrf_test_name=bdcab409386d0d9aa7ed32712e9f67fc.
48. Naenara. (2025, January 11). 이란대통령 인공지능개발사업의 중요성을 강조. http://naenara.com.kp/main/search_first?sVal=인공지능&csrf_test_name=bdcab409386d0d9aa7ed32712e9f67fc.
49. Park, H. S. (2007). Military-first politics (songun): understanding Kim Jong-il’s North Korea. Korea Economic Institute, 2(7), 1-9.
50. Park, Y.S. (2014). Policies and ideologies of the Kim Jong-un regime in North Korea: theoretical implications. Asian Studies Review, 38(1), 1-14.
51. Pinkston, D. A. (2016). Inter-Korean rivalry in the cyber domain: the North Korean cyber threat in the son’gun era. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, 27(3), 60-76.
52. Pinkston, D. A. (2020). North Korea's objectives and activities in cyberspace. Asia Policy, 15(2), 76-83.
53. Pyongyang Times. (2019, August 11). Artificial intelligence brought into wide application. https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/1566470856-959824495/artificial-intelligence-brought-into-wide-application/.
54. Pyongyang Times. (2021, March 12). Institute wins top ten IT enterprise title for the third time. http://www.pyongyangtimes.com.kp/?bbs=39864.
55. Recorded Future. (2023, November 30). Crypto country: North Korea’s targeting of cryptocurrency. https://www.recordedfuture.com/research/crypto-country-north-koreas-targeting-cryptocurrency.
56. Recorded Future. (2017). North Korea cyber activity. Recorded Future Insikt Group.
57. Rodong Sinmun. (2019, August 11). National exhibition of IT successes 2019 closes. https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/1573186825-553240718/national-exhibition-of-it-successes-2019-closes/.
58. Seth, M. J. (2008). Korea: from hermit kingdom to colony. World History: 1750-1914, 13(2), 28-33.
59. Stratford, J.D. (2005). Strategic Culture and the North Korean Nuclear Crisis: Conceptual Challenges and Policy Opportunities. Security Challenges, 1(1), 123-133.
60. Snyder, J. (1977). The Soviet strategic culture: Implications for limited nuclear operations. Santa Monica: Rand
61. Sung, Y.E. (2020). 북한 사이버 테러의 특성 분석 및 시사점. Korean Journal of Convergence Science, 9(3), 265-279.
62. The Korea Times. (2025). Russia, N. Korea, China upping AI use to escalate cyberattacks on US., https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/world/20251017/russia-n-korea-china-upping-ai-use-to-escalate-cyberattacks-on-us.
63. UN Panel of Experts. (2019). Final report of the panel of experts submitted pursuant to resolution 2464, https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=S%2F2020%2F151&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop&LangRequested=False.
64. Warf, B. (2015). The hermit kingdom in cyberspace: unveiling the North Korean internet. Communication & Society, 18(1), 109-120.
65. Whyte, C. (2016). Ending cyber coercion: computer network attack, exploitation and the case of North Korea. Comparative Strategy, 35(2), 93-102.
66. Yoshida, K. and Oshima, Y. (2020, April 18). "North Korea sent 1,000 IT specialists across the world: UN report", https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/N-Korea-at-crossroads/North-Korea-sent-1-000-IT-specialists-across-the-world-UN-report.
67. Yuk, S. L. (1972). Juche! the speeches and writings of Kim Il Sung. Grossman Publishers.