North Korea attempted to steal Covid-19 vaccine technology from US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, according to South Korean intelligence officials.
It is currently unclear as to what, if any, data was stolen.
South Korea's National Intelligence Agency privately briefed lawmakers about the alleged attack, reported local news agency Yonhap.
The BBC has asked Pfizer for a comment but it has yet to respond.
North Korea has yet to report a single case of coronavirus.
However, the country is due to receive two million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine in the coming weeks.
North Korea closed its borders in January last year soon after the virus began to emerge in China.
In November, Microsoft said at least nine health organisations including Pfizer had been targeted by state-backed organisations in North Korea and Russia.
It said North Korean groups dubbed Zinc and Cerium, and a Russian group nicknamed Fancy Bear, were responsible.
The Kremlin has denied targeting other countries' vaccine research.
While many of the break-in attempts failed, Microsoft warned at the time that some had been successful.
Source: BBC
