interview<\/a>, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ji-na told local media that \u201ccoordination between South Korea and the United States\u201d is important to address cryptocurrency theft by North Korean hackers, which can be \u201cused to fund North Korea\u2019s nuclear and missile programmes and pose a threat to our digital ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\nNorth Korea has long used state\u2011sanctioned hacking groups like Lazarus and Kimsuky to target the cryptocurrency sector using a wide range of complex attack vectors that have quietly funnelled billions into Pyongyang\u2019s weapons apparatus.<\/p>\n
To curb these operations, the United States has used sanctions and other enforcement actions to cripple the networks behind these schemes and cut off illicit revenue streams that fuel the regime\u2019s weapons development.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
U.S. targets North Korea\u2019s financial handlers<\/h1>\n
South Korea\u2019s latest stance comes right after the U.S. unveiled a fresh batch of sanctions through its Treasury Department, targeting what it called key financial conduits in North Korea\u2019s crypto laundering network.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe DPRK relies on a vast network of internationally located representatives of DPRK financial institutions who provide access to international markets and financial systems [\u2026] in support of its WMD and ballistic missile programs,\u201d the Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control said.<\/p>\n
Entities involved in the scheme included Korea Mangyongdae Computer Technology Company, which Treasury officials say operates IT worker cells from Chinese cities like Shenyang and Dandong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ryujong Credit Bank was identified as a key player in sanctions evasion that allowed remitting foreign currency earnings for North Korean workers abroad and also played a key role in laundering money between China and the DPRK.<\/p>\n
Treasury officials also named several figures said to be central to the laundering network, including two North Korean bankers, Jang Kuk Chol and Ho Jong Son, who were accused of managing over $5 million in crypto linked to ransomware activity and IT worker revenues.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Five other sanctioned individuals operating across Russia and China had ties to DPRK institutions like Korea Daesong Bank and the Foreign Trade Bank, who Treasury officials say \u201chelped transfer millions in U.S. dollars, Chinese yuan, and euros,\u201d using shell companies and local financial infrastructure to bypass international restrictions.<\/p>\n
South Korea will coordinate with the U.S.<\/h2>\n
According to the South Korean Vice Foreign Minister, \u201ccoordination between South Korea and the U.S. is important\u201d to mitigate these digital threats.<\/p>\n
\u201cSouth Korea has been making joint efforts to curb illegal activities, and in that context, we can consider reviewing sanctions as a measure if they are really needed,\u201d Kim said.<\/p>\n
She added that South Korea may move forward once the U.S. is done \u201cadjusting and reviewing the wording\u201d of a joint fact sheet from a summit between President Lee Jae Myung and President Donald Trump held in late October, before both sides confirm their coordinated response.<\/p>\n
<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With Washington tightening the screws on North Korea\u2019s crypto-funded nuclear weapons programme, South Korea says it\u2019s open to rethinking its own sanctions playbook. Summary South Korea may review its sanctions…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15436"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15437,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15436\/revisions\/15437"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}