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Kim Jong-un observes a missile test (archive image): "Fissile material production capabilities expanded"
Photo: HANDOUT/ AFP
North Korea has intensified its missile tests again in recent weeks, and the country fired seven missiles in January alone.
Among them was at least one missile that could also carry a nuclear warhead.
According to the Reuters news agency, the UN is now emphasizing in a new report that the autocratic regime is also financing the expansion of its nuclear and missile programs by stealing cryptocurrencies.
North Korean hackers acting on behalf of the state have repeatedly been linked to cyberattacks on banks or cryptocurrency platforms.
A group that experts say operates out of North Korea stole $85 million from Bangladesh's central bank.
In Taiwan, the hackers are said to have tried to steal 60 million dollars.
(Read more about the search for clues about the North Korean hackers here.)
"Even if no nuclear tests or ICBM launches are known, the country has expanded its fissile material production capabilities," said an excerpt of a confidential UN report seen by the Reuters news agency. The necessary infrastructure has been maintained and expanded. North Korea has sought material, technology and know-how abroad, using cyber activities in addition to research collaborations.
Hacker attacks were an important source of revenue for the internationally isolated country, according to Reuters in the report.
In the past year, there have been at least seven attacks on cryptocurrency platforms, in which digital assets worth almost $400 million have been stolen, security and analysis firm Chainalysis is quoted as saying.
According to one state, North Korean hackers stole more than $50 million from at least three crypto exchanges in North America, Europe and Asia between 2020 and mid-2021, it said.
A statement from the North Korean representation at the United Nations was initially not available.
The annual report by the UN sanctions authority was handed over to the responsible committee of the Security Council on Friday evening.
Since 2006, North Korea has been subject to UN sanctions aimed at affecting the country's nuclear weapons and missile programs.
muk/hpp/Reuters
