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Chinese surveillance fears spur South Korea to remove 1,300 cameras from military bases

Korean intelligence agencies discovered the Chinese origins of more than 1,300 cameras during a routine inspection, forcing their removal

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South Korean soldiers bound for a UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon salute at a military base in Incheon, South Korea, last month. Photo: Yonhap/EPA-EFE
South Korea’s military has been forced to remove more than 1,300 surveillance cameras from its bases after learning that they could be used to transmit signals to China, Yonhap news agency reported.
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The cameras, which were supplied by a South Korean company, “were found to be designed to be able to transmit recorded footage externally by connecting to a specific Chinese server”, the outlet reported an unnamed military official as saying.

Korean intelligence agencies discovered the cameras’ Chinese origins in July during an examination of military equipment, Yonhap said.

While some of the cameras were near the border with North Korea, they weren’t monitoring it and were instead focused on training bases and fences, the official said.

“No data has actually been leaked,” they added.

The announcement comes amid a crackdown in many Western countries on Chinese-made surveillance equipment. Photo: dpa
The announcement comes amid a crackdown in many Western countries on Chinese-made surveillance equipment. Photo: dpa

Around 100 of the cameras have been replaced with locally-produced equipment, Yonhap reported.

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