Seoul said it was able to capture information on North Korea’s illegal weapons trade through hundreds of hacking attempts that have ignited controversy in South Korea. Photo by McIek/Shutterstock

SEOUL, July 29 (UPI) -- South Korea's spy agency said it attempted to hack into phones and computers hundreds of times, and subsequently uncovered cases of Pyongyang's illegal weapons trade.

The disclosure follows a recent incident involving the death of a National Intelligence Service agent who left a suicide note that rejected claims Seoul was spying on ordinary civilians.


A ruling party member of South Korea's National Assembly told Yonhap he and others were briefed on the spy agency's hacking program, and that they were told the program's goal was counterterrorism and the gathering of intelligence on North Korea.

The National Intelligence Service did not reveal the exact number of hacks that were undertaken but said the general population was exempt from the cyberattacks.

Targets instead were specific groups or individuals, and the attacks involved email messaging, South Korean television network KBS reported.

The recipient would receive an email that concealed a program used to hack the target's personal computer or phone, but if the message was left unopened for a week, it would self-destruct and be categorically a failed hack.

The South Korean agent who left the suicide note, identified only as Lim, had deleted a total of 51 documents, 10 of which chronicled the failures, according to the NIS.

Seoul said it was able to capture information on North Korea's illegal weapons trade but did not go into specifics.

Under U.N. sanctions, North Korea is banned from trading in weapons of mass destruction.

Last week, the Treasury Department blacklisted Singapore shipping firm Senat Shipping for purchasing weapons on behalf of Pyongyang.

The Treasury has frozen all the firm's assets in the United States and has banned U.S. citizens from business dealings with Senat.

In June, Seoul blacklisted Taiwanese and Syrian firms for selling weapons or tools to North Korea that Pyongyang could turn into weapons.