The Information War Is Heating Up In North Korea

ABC News Online: Activists smuggling films and music on USB sticks in the secret information war for the minds of North Koreans

On a dirt path along the Chinese border, a man slips under a barbed wire fence with a package he hopes can bring down the North Korean regime from within.

He scrambles down to the rocky shoreline before casting it into the waters, bound for the North Korean soldiers on the other bank.

His weapon is not a bomb or a covert spying device, but a bundle of USB sticks strapped to a tyre tube and loaded with South Korean pop music and films.

This is the frontline in a secret information war for the minds of North Koreans. Those waging it believe it will be more effective than economic sanctions or military action.

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WNU Editor: If done properly, this type of information warfare will be far more effective than economic sanctions or military action. The only problem with this approach .... which should have been pushed hard years ago .... is that it takes time. Unfortunately, I fear that in today's environment, time is running out.

Are US Military Information Programs Up To Spec

Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates responds to questions during testimony with Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller Robert Hale and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 2, 2010. DoD photo by Cherie Cullen. (Released)

Gates Orders Review Of Pentagon Information Operations -- Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered an internal review of the Pentagon's intelligence operations amid allegations that a defense official hired private contractors for an off-the-books spying effort to track militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Mr. Gates directed a small team of military and defense officials to conduct a 15-day assessment of the military's so-called information operations, which can include psychological warfare and other efforts at battlefield deception. He said the team would look for "systemic problems" that might require "corrective action."

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More News On Gates Review Of Pentagon Information Operations

Defense secretary orders review of military information programs -- Washington Post
Alleged private spy ring prompts wider US probe: Pentagon -- AFP
Gates orders study of Pentagon 'information ops' -- AP
Pentagon probing 'private spy network' -- Sydney Morning Herald/AFP
Caution lights for the military's 'information war' -- David Ignatius, Washington Post

My Comment: This review is long overdue.