US Democratic Senators Urge Government to Disclose Status of Response to North Korea's Cryptocurrency Theft

U.S. Democratic senators have launched a detailed investigation into the administration's response to North Korea's cryptocurrency theft, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 4th (local time).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the report, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Tim Kaine, and Chris Van Hollen sent a letter on the 3rd to Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, requesting information related to this issue. The letter demanded the submission of details on the U.S. administration's specific measures against North Korea's cryptocurrency theft and estimates of the revenue North Korea has generated through illegal cryptocurrency acquisition.

Additionally, the request included information about actors who have helped North Korea exchange cryptocurrency for other forms of assets, such as materials used for nuclear and ballistic missile production. In the letter, they wrote, "North Korea has systematically built expertise in digital assets over the past several years," and emphasized that "swift and decisive action must be taken to crack down on illegal cryptocurrency activities to protect national security."

U.S. authorities have pointed out that there is too much unknown regarding North Korea's sources of funds, making it virtually impossible to precisely determine the role cryptocurrency theft plays. According to WSJ, North Korea has stolen approximately $3 billion (about 3.9 trillion won) in cryptocurrency over the past five years through hacking units since 2018, and it is known that this funds about 50% of its ballistic missile program.

If these statistics are accurate, it indicates that North Korea's reliance on cryptocurrency theft to finance its missile program has significantly increased compared to previous estimates that suggested it covered one-third of the funding. Timothy Haugh, nominee for director of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), also pointed out during last month's hearing that "North Korea relies heavily on virtual assets for the development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)."

According to U.S. authorities and others, North Korea is estimated to have established a "shadow workforce" of thousands of IT-related personnel across countries worldwide, including Russia and China.

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