President Park Geun-hye named an Army general as her secretary for the newly created post in charge of cybersecurity, an official said Friday.

Park appointed Shin In-seop, a brigadier general who served as a deputy commander of the military cybercommand, as the new cybersecurity secretary, presidential spokesman Min Kyung-wook said.

The move came three days after the Cabinet approved the creation of the new post in the latest in a series of South Korea's efforts to better deal with possible cyberattacks.

South Korea and the United States were hit by a series of cyberattacks in recent months that were blamed on North Korea.

South Korea said earlier this month that North Korea is believed to be linked to a series of leaks of data on South Korea's nuclear power plants in December.

The U.S. has also accused North Korea of being behind the hacking of Sony Pictures in November over its comedy film "The Interview," which depicts a plot to assassinate the communist nation's leader, Kim Jong-un.

North Korea has a track record of waging cyberattacks on South Korea and the U.S, though it has flatly denied any involvement in the latest high-profile cases. (Yonhap)