South Korea's military recently removed nearly 1,300 Chinese-made surveillance cameras installed at its bases, concerned about potential security risks, Yonhap news agency reported today. citing a military representative.
The cameras are programmed to be connected to a special server in China, but there is no confirmed leak, Yonhap added.
These cameras were supplied to a South Korean company, and their Chinese origin was identified during an inspection of the equipment earlier this year, the unnamed official said.
The cameras were not used to guard the heavily fortified demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, but to monitor troops undergoing military training as well as along the perimeter of base fences, Reuters said.
South Korea's Defense Ministry said today that it is in the process of removing the Chinese-made cameras and replacing them with others, without specifying whose manufacture they will be.
Last year, Australia's foreign minister said the country's military and foreign affairs departments were removing surveillance cameras made by Chinese companies from their facilities after reports that the technology used in them posed a security risk, according to Reuters.