N. Korea obtained 40% of funding needed for weapons through cyber theft: UN report

유엔 “北, 사이버탈취 6년간 4조원대 핵개발 재원의 40% 조달“ A panel of experts at the United Nations has sounded the alarm, again, over North Korea’s illicit cyber activities, that have been used to fund its weapons program. Our foreign affairs correspondent Bae Eun-ji has more. North Korea has obtained half of its total foreign currency income through financial theft, via hacking and cyber attacks,.. and such funds were used to cover 40 percent of the resources needed for developing weapons of mass destruction. That’s according to a bi-annual report on the North, released by a panel of experts under the UN Security Council Sanctions committee on Wednesday, which said tensions on the Korean Peninsula increased over a six-month reporting period from July 2023 to January 2024. The report said 58 suspected cyberattacks by North Korea are currently investigating, on cryptocurrency-related firms between 2017 and 2023, that’s valued at roughly 3-billion U.S. dollars. It pointed out that continuous cyber attacks targeting the virtual asset industry are also a means of generating revenue by avoiding UNSC sanctions. As the economic sanctions made it nearly impossible to obtain foreign currency needed to develop nuclear weapons and other missile technologies, hacking is used as the main means of earning such income. Regarding the latest report, Seoul’s foreign ministry explained that it will continue to engage in diplomatic efforts at both bilateral and multilateral levels, including international organizations, to ensure the effectiveness of sanctions against the regime. “Our government is closely cooperating with our allies such as the United States, to address North Korea’s nuclear and missile development and counter such threats.“ Experts at the United Nations also assessed that North Korea has increased self-sufficiency in manufacturing the equipment and components for its ballistic missiles. As for nuclear tests, it said while there hasn’t been a seventh one yet, the regime has been developing additional nuclear weapons and producing fissile materials, as they continue to flout UN Security Council sanctions. It noted that the light water reactor appeared to be operational at the Yongbyon site and that there continues to be activity at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site. Bae Eun-ji, Arirang News. #UN #NorthKorea #Cyber_theft #Weapons #Nuclear #유엔 #북한 #사이버_절도 #범죄 #핵_개발 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2024-03-21, 18:00 (KST)