- Cryptocurrency hacks reportedly accounted for 40% of North Korea's weapons program.
- North Korean actors, such as the Lazarus Group, prefer to launder money through “mixers.”
According to a report by South Korean news agency Yonhap, about 50% of North Korea's forex earnings come from hacks and exploitation of cryptocurrencies.
“The DPRK’s malicious cyber activities generate approximately 50 percent of its foreign currency income and are used to fund its weapons programs.”
The media cited a United Nations report confirming that exploitation operations related to cryptocurrencies in the country between 2017 and 2023 amounted to $3 billion. According to the report, 40% of illicit funds are used to develop weapons of mass destruction.
The above report confirms an earlier US revelation in mid-2023 about North Korea's foreign income from cyber theft. In June 2023, Nikkei Asia a report A Biden administration official was quoted as saying;
“We are extremely concerned that cryptocurrency thefts and cyberattacks constitute a significant source of funding for the regime in Pyongyang, and are concerned that approximately 50% of their forex earnings come from cyber theft.”
Cryptocurrency hacks linked to North Korea
The country has been mainly linked to major DeFi hacks in 2022 and 2023. Chainalysis' 2023 report noted that the North Korea-linked Lazarus Group accounted for “US$1.7 billion in cryptocurrency hacks in 2022.”
Most of Lazarus Group's stolen cryptocurrency funds are laundered into the cryptocurrency mixer UMEXfollowing regulatory heat on other sanctioned mixers, Sinbad and Tornado Cash.
Kimusky is another North Korea-linked actor who has been negatively mentioned in cryptocurrency exploits on Stake.com and Harmony.
Aside from the mixers, these actors He prefers Decentralized exchanges, lending protocols, and exchanges in that order.
According to Arkham Intelligence DataLazarus Group transferred $1 million in Bitcoin [BTC] In early January. If this large movement of crypto assets on exchanges ends, market prices will likely be affected.
