According to a message from ChainCatcher and reported by The Block, the South Korean government has imposed sanctions on 15 North Korean individuals and one entity for their involvement in illegal cyber activities, including cryptocurrency theft. According to Chainalysis data, North Korean hackers stole $1.34 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 2024, accounting for 61% of the total stolen that year.
The targets of these sanctions are all members of the 313 Bureau under the Ministry of Machine Industry of the Workers' Party of Korea, which has been under United Nations Security Council sanctions since 2016 and is responsible for North Korea's weapons production, including ballistic missile programs. The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that North Korean IT personnel often disguise their identities and travel to places like China, Russia, Southeast Asia, and Africa to obtain work orders from global IT companies while also engaging in information theft and cyber attacks.