South Korea has become the first Asian member state of NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence (CCDCOE), the country’s Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday.
In a statement cited by the media outlet, Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it plans to “strengthen our cyber response capabilities to a world-class level by increasing the number of our staff sent to the center and expanding the scope of joint training.”
South Korea’s accession to the CCDCOE has brought the number of members to 32, with 27 being NATO states, referred to as sponsoring nations. Korea and the other four members from outside the military bloc are contributing participants.
According to the NIS, it applied to join the CCDCOE back in 2019, and has participated in the center’s activities since then, including the Locked Shields cyber defense exercise for two consecutive years since 2020.