Legislator: N. Korea hackers stole war plans

Seoul lawmaker says U.S., South’s documents stolen

TOKYO — North Korean hackers stole a huge trove of classified U.S. and South Korean military documents last year, including a plan to “decapitate” the leadership in Pyongyang in the event of war, a lawmaker in Seoul said Tuesday.

The purported revelations come at a time of heightened tensions in the U.S. over North Korea.

The defense minister in Japan, a close military ally of the United States, said Tuesday that Trump might take such action against North Korea as soon as next month.

In Seoul, Rhee Cheolhee, a lawmaker in the ruling Democratic Party and a member of the parliamentary national defense committee, said North Korean hackers broke into the Defense Integrated Data Center in September last year to steal secret files, including American and South Korean “operational plans” for wartime action. The data center is the main headquarters of South Korea’s defense network.

According to Rhee, the stolen documents included OPLAN 5015, a plan drafted two years ago for dealing with full-blown war with North Korea and said to include procedures to “decapitate” the North Korean leadership. He said the cache also included OPLAN 3100, outlining the military response to infiltration by North Korean commandos or another local provocation, as well as a contingency plan in case of a sudden change in North Korea.

Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Robert Manning said Tuesday he was aware of media reports of the breach but would not say if sensitive operation documents were exposed.

“We are confident in the security of our operations plans,” Manning said.

KOREA NEWS SERVICE VIA AP A South Korean lawmaker says North Korean hackers stole military documents about U.S. and South war plans.