Table of Contents Introduction Technology and Defence in the 21st Century: The Nature of the Threat Technology and Defence in South Korea Technology and Defence in Canada Conclusion: Overlaps and Opportunities for Canada End Notes About the Author Canadian Global Affairs Institute Introduction Information technology is fundamental to national security in the 21st century. Advances in remote technology, sensors, communication networks and artificial intelligence (AI) have pushed the boundaries for defence innovation from anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons1 to hypersonic glide vehicles,2 to the drones famously deployed in the ongoing war in Ukraine.3 Increasing dependence on computer networking has also opened a new domain in cyberspace, with the past two decades alone witnessing high-profile cyberattacks on nation states or critical infrastructure. These include: Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against the Estonian government in 20074 and Georgian government in 20085; The Stuxnet worm used to sabotage Iranian uranium enrichment centrifuges in 2011;6 Data breaches of U.S. federal agencies during the 2020 SolarWinds hack;7 and The ransomware attack that shut down the American Colonial Pipeline in 2021.8 South Korea has grappled first-hand with the threat of advanced warfare. Neighboured by a North Korea intent on flexing its advanced missile and cyber-capabilities, and a China in the midst of a military modernization program, South Korea is situated in a threat environment that necessitates keeping up with the bleeding edge of contemporary high-tech war. As a fellow player in the Pacific arena, and sharing a mutual ally in the United States, this also makes South Korea a prospective partner for Canada’s own ambitions in technological defence innovation. This paper examines defence technology practices in South Korea to identify strategic opportunities for Canada. The first section provides a brief overview of the relationship between technology and defence in the 21st century. The second and third sections assess defence technology practices in South Korea and Canada respectively, noting particular differences in each country’s threat environment. Taking stock of these comparisons, the article concludes by highlighting potential strategic opportunities for Canada in pursuing closer defence technology ties with South Korea. TOP OF PAGE Technology and Defence in the 21st Century: The Nature of the Threat For observers of the information revolution, the primary challenge has been to comprehend the threat posed by these emerging technologies. Epitomized in then-U.S. Defense secretary Leon Panetta’s 2012 warning of a “cyber-Pearl Harbor,”9 a substantial focus has historically been cyberwar – the coercive use of offensive information technologies against other states – as the primary threat. For the most part, this notion stems from the idea that with a few lines of code or key presses, a nefarious agent can subvert one’s weapons or defence systems or else cripple a nation’s critical infrastructure, a fear exacerbated by the experience of the 2011 Stuxnet worm which the U.S. and Israel reportedly launched against Iran’s nuclear program. In a related line of thinking, the cyberwar threat also manifests in the capacity for cyber-tools to disrupt military, civilian or governance structures in a manner that states could perceive as an armed attack.10 For others, the escalatory potential rests in the fact that increased dependence on computing systems turns them into a key resource that states may seek to defend by a pre-emptive strike.11
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