North Korea’s cyber-enabled sanction evasion requires tougher response, lawmakers and experts say – By Edward Graham (Nextgov) / July 28, 2023
Pyongyang’s growing reliance on cybercrimes to circumvent international sanctions should push the U.S. and its allies to fully enforce existing sanctions and review whether more regulations are needed to govern digital currencies.
North Korea’s reliance on cyberattacks to fund its illicit activities requires a more robust response from the U.S. and international community, lawmakers and experts said on Thursday, including more rigorous enforcement of current sanctions and a review of the regulatory framework surrounding cryptocurrencies.
During a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific hearing — which was held on the 70th anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War — lawmakers and experts said that international sanctions were not doing enough to stymie North Korea’s nuclear program or bring its leader, Kim Jong Un, to the negotiating table because of the country’s massive reliance on digitally pilfered funds.
Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif. — the subcommittee’s chair — noted that “North Korea is one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world,” which requires it to depend on cybercrimes and other illicit activities “to fund its human rights abuses and its nuclear program.”
