North Korea Indicated Of Funding Weapon Programme, South Korea To Seize Funds

Fresh report from from Asia says that South Korea has passed a new law that will freeze North Korean cryptocurrency assets thought to be used in funding its weapons development in a historic move to stop North Korea’s illicit cryptocurrency activities.

The Act was created in response to North Korea’s growing cyber threats, which have been estimated by South Korean intelligence to be worth $1.28 billion ($1.7 trillion) in BTC and Ethereum stolen in 2022 alone. The president of South Korea, Park Ji-hoon, stressed the necessity of the nation’s cybersecurity framework and blasted the previous administration for ignoring it to avoid upsetting North Korea.

The discovery that $52 million in virtual assets tied to North Korean hacking groups had been cleaned after being diverted into South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges over the previous four years was one of the significant revelations that led to the formulation of the bill. People Power Party member Yoon Han-hong revealed this information, emphasizing the urgent need to take firm action against such illegal transactions.

North Korean Accused Of Aiding Hackers, New Legislation Empowers Government

Over the past five years, North Korean hackers have progressively amassed money through cybercrime; estimates place their total wealth at over $3 billion. The recent revelation by Anne Neuberger says that cyberattacks and cryptocurrency theft have funded half of North Korea’s missile program.

This, she said highlights the immediate threat that North Korea’s illegal operations represent not only to South Korea but to global security. The amendments attempted to balance protecting national security and the digital currency market while addressing concerns about the bill’s possible impact on cryptocurrency trading in South Korea.

The recently passed legislation gives the South Korean government the authority to seize and freeze cryptocurrency assets owned by North Korean people and businesses engaged in cyberattacks and other activities. The Act establishes stronger rules for bitcoin exchanges, requiring higher security standards and enforcing penalties for non-compliance.

South Korea Urge Countries To  Create Policies That Combat International Cybersecurity

South Korea has recently urged other nations to implement comparable policies to prevent the use of cryptocurrencies to finance illicit operations and to strengthen international cybersecurity efforts.

Comments from Jane Lubale from Inside Bitcoin explained that this new South Korean law sends a clear statement that the international community will not tolerate the usage of digital currencies for illegal purposes.

Accounts from South Korea’s local media, Korea JoongAng Daily, have reported that President Yoon Suk Yeol has instructed that the bill be reviewed to accommodate (what he explained as a) pragmatic approach to boost national security. However, the said bill has been in review for ten months.

The report added that once the bill is passed, it will give the South Korean government more power over cryptocurrency transactions. The report also states that the increase in North Korea’s cybercrime activities coincided with the increased missile tests in North Korea.

According to Anne Neuberger, White House officials have proved that the country (North Korea) unveiled over 90 ballistic and cruise missiles just last year alone. These documents also proved that these missiles were funded with proceeds from the many cryptocurrency cyberattacks. Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council has also come out to accuse North Korea of being behind the many cyberattacks, to finance their missile and nuclear programs.

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