South Korea

Joongang Ilbo | English | News | Nov. 28, 2025 | North Korea

North Korea currently possesses an estimated 150 nuclear weapons, including between 115 and 131 uranium-based weapons and 15 to 19 plutonium bombs. This figure is significantly higher than international estimates of around 50 weapons. An analyst from the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), Lee Sang-kyu, projects that North Korea’s nuclear arsenal could expand to about 243 weapons by 2030 and may exceed 400 by 2040 as the country strengthens its nuclear material production capabilities.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has emphasized an exponential increase in the nuclear arsenal since a 2022 party meeting, reaffirming the policy in 2024 as part of efforts to deter threats. North Korea is also developing advanced weapons systems including nuclear-powered submarines. The country is constructing a 5,000 to 6,000-ton nuclear submarine and aims to develop a small reactor to power it, though this could take over a decade. There is speculation that Russia might provide technological assistance or key materials for the submarine project.

Kim Jong-un’s visit to a shipyard in March 2025 marked North Korea’s first official public confirmation of building a nuclear-powered submarine, signaling an expansion of its maritime defense capabilities. These efforts are part of broader strategic advancements alongside other sophisticated weapons such as spy satellites and solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Joongang Ilbo | English | News | Nov. 28, 2025 | Regulation

South Korea plans to establish large-scale autonomous driving test-bed cities to advance its autonomous vehicle technology from Level 3 (conditional automation) to Level 4 (high automation). The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced a government initiative to create a citywide autonomous driving test zone by 2026, deploying around 100 autonomous vehicles in the area. Currently, autonomous vehicles operate only in limited pilot zones across 47 areas rather than full urban environments.

The government aims to overhaul existing regulations including allowing the use of raw video footage for R&D, which is expected to improve recognition accuracy by up to 25 percent. Presently, laws require video footage to be pseudonymized, hindering data utility. Additionally, a new legal role called the autonomous vehicle safety manager will be introduced to clearly define criminal and administrative liabilities for Level 4 driverless vehicles, covering incidents such as signal breaches and hit-and-runs.

South Korea faces strong competition from the United States and China, where more extensive real-world testing and capital investments have accelerated industry advancement. In the global autonomous driving sector, 14 of the top 20 companies are based in the US, four in China, and only one each in Britain and Korea. To address potential conflicts with existing taxi operators, a tripartite consultation body will be formed involving the government, autonomous driving firms, and taxi representatives. The government aims to commercialize Level 4 autonomous vehicles by 2027.

中 차량 '도청·정보 유출' 우려…세계 각국 대응 나섰다

ZD Net Korea | Local Language | News | Nov. 28, 2025 | Privacy

Israel, the UK, and other countries have classified Chinese-made vehicles as potential eavesdropping devices, prompting countermeasures against wireless backdoor attacks. Israel has notably recalled approximately 700 Chinese electric vehicles leased to senior military officials due to concerns over wireless backdoor vulnerabilities, even after initially disabling cameras and microphones in these vehicles. This recall effectively labels Chinese-made electric vehicles as a national security threat.

Electric and software-defined vehicles (SDVs) integrate extensive data and systems, making them vulnerable to data leaks through in-vehicle communication modules and wireless backdoors. Israel specifically highlighted the risk of sensitive information exposure, including military patterns, through vehicle location data and passenger conversations. BYD is set to release three electric passenger car models domestically this year, which raises further security scrutiny.

The UK Ministry of Defence has advised against connecting Ministry devices to Chinese electric vehicles and uses warning stickers to prohibit confidential conversations inside such vehicles. The United States has pursued regulations under both the Biden and Trump administrations aimed at banning or tightening security on connected vehicles containing Chinese-made software and hardware. There is a growing indication that multiple countries need to develop measures to prevent vehicle eavesdropping and information leaks.