Groups affiliated to the Communist government stole billions worth of cryptocurrencies over the past years.

The security advisors from the United States, South Korea, and Japan met in Seoul this week to discuss, among others, what response would be most appropriate to North Korea’s continued thefts of cryptocurrencies, which the regime of Kim Jong Un uses to fund various domestic projects, including the nuclear and ballistic missile program. 

The White House acknowledged in a readout that the communist government in Pyongyang has been in control or supportive of various crypto hacking groups that have made headlines in recent years. 

One of the most impactful is the Lazarus Group, a hacking entity linked to Pyongyang’s military intelligence, which last year alone stole 1.7billion -dollar worth of cryptocurrencies – of which 600 million from Axie Infinity’s Ronin Bridge.

Overall, North Korean crypto hackers plundered a dozen of crypto exchanges and wallets, getting away with more than 3 billion dollars since 2018. 

After laundering, the money either goes to the dictator’s family or to his weapons development projects.

The document highlights that the national security advisors (Jake Sullivan, Cho Tae-Yong, and Takeo Akiba) reviewed “advancements” in addressing North Korea's use of cryptocurrency to generate revenue for malicious programs.

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The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on multiple mixers allegedly used by North Korean hackers to launder the stolen funds, including Tornado Cash, a privacy tool.

Recently, OFAC targeted two crypto addresses associated with the Sinbad mixer, and law enforcement agencies from multiple nations collaboratively seized Sinbad's website. OFAC has also blacklisted several wallets and individuals from the global financial system, asserting their complicity in supporting North Korea's crypto operations.