South Korea and the U.S. Hold Symposium on Responding to North Korea's Cryptocurrency Theft

Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Hold Public-Private Symposium with U.S. State Department on Cryptocurrency Theft by North Korea on the 17th
Expectations for Building Government and Private Networks of Major Countries on North Korea's Illegal Funds

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 15th that it will jointly host the "Korea-US Joint Public-Private Symposium on Responding to North Korea's Cryptocurrency Theft" in Seoul on the 17th, together with the US Department of State.

The event will be attended by government officials from Korea, the US, and more than 12 other countries, as well as representatives from cryptocurrency exchanges and blockchain companies. They will share major methods used by North Korea to steal cryptocurrencies and response cases, and discuss public-private cooperation and international community collaboration measures for effective countermeasures.

Best practices to protect cryptocurrency exchanges, financial institutions, and blockchain companies from North Korea's cryptocurrency theft are expected to be highlighted.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "We expect to block North Korea's illegal funding for weapons of mass destruction and missile development through malicious cyber activities, and to build a cooperative network with government and private sector officials from major countries."

In this regard, Korea-US diplomatic authorities held the first director-level meeting to respond to North Korea's illegal cyber activities in Washington, US, last August, with Lee Tae-woo, Director of the North Korea Nuclear Diplomacy Planning Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Chung Park, Deputy Special Representative for North Korea at the US Department of State, attending as chief representatives.

Chung Park, who is currently visiting Korea, is also expected to attend the symposium.

Meanwhile, on the same day in Seoul, Deputy Special Representative Chung Park held a luncheon consultation with Jeon Young-hee, Director of the Peace Diplomacy Planning Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, exchanging views on future responses to North Korean provocations and the internal situation in North Korea.

Director Jeon explained that the government will unwaveringly make efforts to bring North Korea to dialogue based on the bold initiative, and Deputy Special Representative Park reaffirmed the firm support of the US side, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Both sides recalled the recent Korea-US and Korea-US-Japan summits, where they agreed to strengthen joint responses to the North Korean nuclear threat, and agreed to maintain close communication going forward.

Deputy Special Representative Chung Park also visited Korea last month, holding consultations with Director Lee Tae-woo on Korea-US North Korea nuclear deputy representative matters, and with Director Jeon Young-hee on North Korea policy-related issues.

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