A leaked United Nations report by Reuters revealed that North Korean hackers have earned a total of 3 billion pounds from cryptocurrency attacks, which were then used to fund their nuclear weapons development. During the same period, Monero was also delisted by Binance, with the reason cited being questionable activities.
UN and global law enforcement agencies are cracking down on North Korea’s illegal money laundering activities under the guise of privacy technology. According to Reuters, UN sanctions inspectors are investigating dozens of theft cases carried out by North Korea through cyber attacks and believe that these cases have provided ample funds for North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
The UN report, set to be officially released later this month or next month, reveals the trend of North Korea’s economic and trade recovery, suggesting that international sanctions may gradually become ineffective. This is related to the differing positions of China and Russia towards North Korea, as compared to the United States.
The UN Security Council has long prohibited luxury goods transactions with North Korea and called for the repatriation of North Korean workers abroad in order to prevent them from earning foreign income for their leader, Kim Jong-un. However, investigations have found that North Korea continues to engage in international crimes through online activities, including financial transactions, in violation of Security Council resolutions.
The sanctions inspectors have stated that these cyber hackers are primarily affiliated with the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB) of the Pyongyang foreign intelligence agency. With the continuous occurrence of crimes, the inspectors even mentioned the lack of signs of a halt in nuclear tests since 2017, as well as the launch of ballistic missiles and attempts to store submarines with nuclear attack capabilities.
At the same time, mainstream stablecoins have also been banned almost simultaneously, which is suspected to be related to the international community’s actions and sanctions against North Korea. Since OKX delisted the privacy coin Monero (XMR) on January 5, Binance recently announced on February 6 that it will fully delist Monero on February 20, without specifying the exact reasons but listing a few possible factors, including unethical/fraudulent behavior and new regulatory requirements. The collapse of major trading markets has also led to a sharp drop in the price of XMR tokens. After the news about XMR surfaced on February 6, the price plunged from $166 to $102, a decrease of 39%. It has since experienced a slight rebound, currently hovering around $121. However, with the international ban on North Korea and the news about XMR, other trading platforms such as KuCoin, Gate.io, and Kraken may face obstacles from the United States and the international community if they want to maintain the listing of XMR.
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