In a new report, UN experts claim that North Korean hackers stole more than £37 million in bitcoin to fund and develop the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Pyongyang’s testing and presentation of new short-range and possibly medium-range missiles, ‘incorporating both ballistic and guiding technologies and employing both solid and liquid propellants,’ accelerated in January, according to the annual report by independent sanctions monitors.
Between 2020 and mid-2021, cyberattacks stole more than £37 million in digital assets from at least three cryptocurrency exchanges in North America, Europe, and Asia, according to investigators.
Experts said that cyber attacks “remain a significant cash source” for Kim Jong Un’s leadership and Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.
They also stated that North Korea “continued to seek” nuclear weapons.
On Friday, the report was forwarded to the United Nations Security Council’s North Korea sanctions committee.
This follows a study from blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, which stated that North Korea attempted at least seven attacks on cryptocurrency platforms last year, stealing roughly $400 million in digital assets.
‘From 2020 to 2021, the number of North Korean-linked hacks increased from four to seven, and the value taken from these hacks increased by 40%,’ according to the report, which was issued last month.
According to a 2019 United Nations assessment, North Korea has already been able to spend at least $2 billion on weapons because to cybercrime revenues.
According to a UN assessment, North Korean hackers are now turning their attention to obtaining military secrets in order to make money.