Government "Monitoring North Korea's Nuclear Funding Trends Through Illegal Cyber Activities"

Reviewing Various Measures to Block Funding for North Korea's Cyber Space Nuclear and Missile Development
Strengthening ROK-US-Japan Cooperation to Block Illegal Cyber Activities

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The government announced on the 8th that it is closely monitoring North Korea's illegal cyber activities aimed at securing funds for nuclear and missile development and is reviewing specific measures to block them.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told reporters on the same day, "Our government is closely monitoring North Korea's cryptocurrency theft trends through close cooperation between South Korea and the United States," and added, "We are reviewing and will continue to pursue various measures to block North Korea's funding for nuclear and missile development through activities in cyberspace."

Last month, the senior nuclear representatives of South Korea, the United States, and Japan agreed through a telephone consultation to strengthen efforts to block North Korea's funding for nuclear and missile development through cryptocurrency theft and other means to deter North Korea's nuclear development.

The official emphasized the South Korea-U.S. joint efforts to block North Korea's illegal cyber activities, highlighting the Korea-U.S. Working Group Meeting on North Korean Cyber Threat Response as a representative activity.

This meeting, chaired by the senior nuclear representatives of both countries, was first held in the United States in August, and the schedule for future meetings is currently being coordinated.

Regarding a report by Japan's Kyodo News that South Korea, the United States, and Japan would submit additional UN Security Council sanctions resolutions or announce independent sanctions if North Korea conducts its 7th nuclear test, the official said, "We will continue to take and review corresponding sanctions according to the level of North Korea's provocations at any time."

Meanwhile, Senior Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lim said on the same day, in response to the U.S. State Department's criticism of China and Russia's non-cooperation with sanctions against North Korea, "We view the Security Council's silence despite North Korea's continued missile provocations as encouraging these illegal provocations," expressing agreement with the U.S. State Department's position.

Spokesperson Lim added, "In yesterday's telephone consultation among the senior nuclear representatives of South Korea, the United States, and Japan, we shared the view that a united and strong response at the Security Council level is very important given North Korea's repeated violations of multiple Security Council resolutions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.