UN: North Korea is stealing millions in cyber attacks on banks and crypto firms

Kim Jong Un inspects an area planned for a vegetable greenhouse farm in the Ryonpho area of Hamju county, South Hamgyong province (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

UN experts say North Korea continues to steal hundreds of millions of pounds from financial institutions and cryptocurrency firms, with the dictatorship using the illicit money to fund its nuclear and missile programmes.

The panel of experts said according to an unnamed government, North Korean “cyber actors stole more than 50 million dollars (£37 million) between 2020 and mid-2021 from at least three cryptocurrency exchanges in North America, Europe and Asia, probably reflecting a shift to diversify its cyber crime operations”.