(Reuters) – North Korea is developing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning for everything from responding to Covid-19 and securing nuclear reactors to simulating war games and government surveillance, a new study has found.
International sanctions imposed over its nuclear program may have hampered North Korea’s attempts to secure AI hardware, but the country nevertheless appears to be pursuing the latest technology, wrote the study’s author, Hyuk Kim of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) in California.
“North Korea’s recent efforts to develop AI/AA signify a strategic investment to strengthen its digital economy,” Kim wrote in the report published on Tuesday by the 38 North project, based on open source information, including state media and periodicals.
Some of North Korea’s AI researchers have collaborated with foreign academics, including from China, the report said.
North Korea established the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute in 2013 and in recent years several companies have promoted commercial products with AI, according to the study.
Communication technology is heavily restricted and monitored in the country.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, North Korea used AI to create a model to assess the proper use of masks and prioritize indicators of clinical symptoms of infection, Kim said in the report.
North Korean scientists have also published research on the use of AI to maintain the safety of nuclear reactors, the report added.
The UN nuclear watchdog and independent experts said last month that a new reactor at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex appears to be operating for the first time, which would mean another potential source of plutonium for nuclear weapons.
The development of AI presents many challenges, Kim wrote.
“For example, North Korea’s pursuit of a war game simulation program using (machine learning) reveals intentions to better understand operational environments against potential adversaries,” he wrote.
“In addition, North Korea’s ongoing collaborations with foreign academics are cause for concern for the sanctions regime.”
*** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***