North Korea funds weapons with stolen crypto: UN
North Korea is funding its weapons program with cryptocurrency stolen through cyberattacks.
That's according to a leaked U.N. report seen by Reuters.
It says Pyongyang has continued to develop its nuclear and ballistic missile programs during the past year and that cyberattacks have been an important source of revenue.
According to the report, between 2020 and mid-2021 North Korean hackers stole more than 50 million dollars from at least three crypto currency exchanges.
The monitors also cited a report last month by cybersecurity firm Chainalysis which said North Korea extracted nearly 400 million dollars worth of digital assets just last year in cyber attacks.
At the same time, it said there had been a "marked acceleration" of missile testing by Pyongyang.
The United States and others said on Friday that North Korea had carried out nine ballistic missile launches in January,
adding it was the largest number in a single month in the history of the country's weapons program.
North Korea has been subject to UN sanctions since 2006 in an effort to target funding for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
