While hackers based in North Korea have reportedly stolen more than 60% of the world's stolen cryptocurrencies this year, South Korea doesn't seem to want to let this slide. The country did not hesitate to impose sanctions against members of a North Korean hacker organization.
South Korea sanctions North Korean agents accused of stealing cryptocurrencies
The government of South Korea announced this Thursday having taken sanctions against 15 members from the 313th general officean organization under the Department of Mechanical Engineering Industry of the Workers' Party of North Korea.
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All are accused of having participated in computer attacks, and more particularly to cryptocurrency thefts. According to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the 313th General Office would organize the production of weapons within North Korea, participating in particular to the country's nuclear weapons development program. Their modus operandi for illegally stealing information and funds has been detailed:
North Korean IT personnel are known to be sent to China, Russia, Southeast Asia and Africa as local government-affiliated organizations, concealing their status and securing work orders from IT companies around the worldwhile some are also involved in the theft of information and in carrying out cyberattacks.
Thus, the 15 North Koreans sanctioned would have illegally obtained crypto funds to finance North Korea's nuclear missile development program. One of the members of the 313th General Bureau, Kim Ryu Song, had previously been indicted in the United States for money laundering, identity theft and violation of US sanctions. The latter would have succeeded in generating for $88 million of income in 6 years of activity.
In a similar vein, another sanctioned North Korean, Kim Cheol-min, is said to have infiltrated IT companies in Canada and the United States, succeeding in being hired there. In this way, he allegedly managed to send large sums to Pyongyang in fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies.
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North Korean hackers behind majority of crypto scams in 2024
At the same time, South Korea also imposed sanctions to a North Korean entity whose name has not been revealed. The latter would not hesitate to send part of its IT staff abroad for it to succeed to illegally generate money in order to finance the North Korean regime and its army.
According to a report from Chainalysis, of the $2.2 billion worth of cryptocurrencies stolen this year, $1.34 billion were stolen by North Korean hackers. This constitutes an increase of 102% compared to the $660 million worth of crypto stolen in 2023.
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Thus, North Korean hackers would be at the origin of certain of the biggest crypto scams perpetrated in recent years. This Monday, the FBI announced, for example, that hackers based in North Korea were the main actors of the theft of $308 million in cryptocurrencies from DMM Bitcoinforcing the Japanese company to close its doors.
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Source: Press release
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Surprised by the rise of crypto-assets at the end of the 2010s, I began to closely follow this sector which fascinates me to the greatest extent. When I'm not in football stadiums, rugby stadiums or handball halls, I work on writing relevant articles around cryptocurrencies and more broadly, Web3.
Zacharie Tazrout
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