The government signed an agreement Thursday with a university in Seoul to train cybersecurity specialists to better defend the country's power-related Internet infrastructure from future attacks.
  

The agreement with Korea University calls for some 23 trainees to be picked every year so they can undergo 18 months of intensive education in such fields as responding effectively to cyberattacks and managing the various security systems that can prevent a hacker from breaking into critical sites, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
  

The ministry said some 70 specialists will be trained in the next four years.
  

Upon completion, these personnel will be assigned to work for Korea Electric Power Corp., the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. and their affiliates and prevent the hacking of critical systems related to the country's power generation structure.
  

In 2014 and earlier this year, the KHNP was threatened with cyberattacks. The unidentified hackers requested money in exchange for handling over sensitive information to a foreign country.
  

The country, moreover, has come under repeated cyberattacks that targeted government ministries, agencies and the financial sectors.
  

The government said the concerted nature of these attacks and the methods used pointed to North Korean involvement, although Pyongyang has denied such allegations.
  

"The latest program is expected to greatly enhance the country's overall ability to thwart cyberattacks," the ministry said. (Yonhap)