Ministry of Foreign Affairs Holds Global New Security Forum: "Strengthening Cyber Resilience Is Policy Direction"

Security Implications of Emerging Technologies such as AI

Theme: "Emerging Technology: Risks and Opportunities"

At the 2026 World New Security Forum (WESF), concerns were raised that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are no longer merely future threats but have become real security issues. Voices emphasized the need for the international community to establish norms, engage in cooperation, and enhance cyber resilience.

On the morning of the 9th, Jung Yeon-doo, Director of the Office of Foreign Policy Strategy and Intelligence at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is delivering the opening remarks at the '2026 World New Security Forum' held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Jung Yeon-doo, Director of the Office of Foreign Policy Strategy and Intelligence at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated in his opening remarks at the forum held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on September 9, "For years, we discussed emerging technologies as matters of the future. We said, 'AI will change warfare.' That time has now passed. Emerging technologies are no longer just something to predict."

Director Jung added, "It is the reality we face. AI now appears in today's news headlines and is already present on the battlefield. AI is leading security innovation across all military domains, from intelligence analysis and reconnaissance to logistics and operational planning."

He further noted, "When used wisely, AI can support more well-informed decision-making and enhance the effectiveness of operations. However, if misused, it could lead to an entirely different future. Whether AI ultimately strengthens or undermines our security depends on the rules we establish, the cooperation we build, and the level of restraint we exercise."

Kim Hwigang, Secretary for Cybersecurity at the Presidential Office, referenced a large-scale cyber breach that affected several government agencies earlier this year in his congratulatory remarks. He stated, "We isolated the impacted systems, patched the vulnerabilities across the entire network, and we are currently enhancing monitoring of these systems."

He also noted, "The intrusion exploited vulnerabilities that even software vendors were unaware of at the time. This highlights the practical limitations in preempting such incidents, regardless of the defense system in place."

Secretary Kim stressed, "In situations where attacks are carried out so swiftly and covertly, preventing every intrusion beforehand cannot be the sole standard for judging success. What matters is how quickly breaches are detected and how rapidly the affected areas are restored." He added, "This is the meaning of resilience, which is the direction of our policy."

He also highlighted the dual nature of AI. "AI is making attacks faster and cheaper and tracking them more difficult," Kim said. "At the same time, thanks to AI, we can now detect and analyze threats earlier and respond and recover more rapidly. Both attackers and defenders are using the same tools."

In the session titled "Tech Triangle: Deterrence Conditions in AI-Cyber-Nuclear Connectivity amid Technological Convergence," held in the afternoon, experts discussed the risks AI poses to military decision-making and the need for human control during nuclear crisis situations.

Karen Gibson, former Deputy Director of the U.S. National Intelligence and non-resident Senior Fellow at the CSIS Intelligence, National Security, and Technology Program, stated, "AI far surpasses our cognitive abilities in understanding vast amounts of data and linking information from disparate data sets." Yet, she cautioned, "AI is not adept at telling us what is happening in people's minds. That remains a task for humans."

She particularly stressed the necessity of human control in nuclear crisis situations, saying, "When it comes to specific matters such as the launch of nuclear weapons, keeping the authority in human hands is essential."

Professor Son Hanbyeol of the National Defense University’s Department of Strategy discussed the North Korean nuclear issue, saying, "AI could become a type of countermeasure." However, he also expressed concern that "AI could remove several essential 'brakes' on control." He explained, "There are three brakes in control: time, information, and authority."

He also addressed the issue of information overload in an open information environment enabled by AI, saying, "This means North Korea could directly attack our decision-making process. We call this 'nuclear cognitive warfare.'"

Graham Nelson, founder and Secretary-General of the AI Diplomacy Network, warned of the possibility that relying on AI in policy-making could reduce the quality of judgment. He noted that although there had been moves in government to "respond faster, make policy, and synthesize information" using AI, "there was a risk that this diminished the quality of our decision-making."

Now in its sixth year, the World New Security Forum is a platform for discussion on emerging security threats launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2021. This year's forum, held under the theme "Emerging Technology: Risks and Opportunities," was attended by more than 20 speakers and over 200 participants from government, international organizations, the private sector, and academia.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.