North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un (center) attended a nighttime military parade on the 14th, and said the U.S. is the biggest enemy and he will work to enrich North Korea’s nuclear arsenal in response. (Photo source: North Korea official coal)
North Korea has been sanctioned by the United Nations for test-launching missiles and developing nuclear weapons. But the United Nations panel of experts monitoring sanctions against North Korea disclosed that in the past two years, North Korea’s hacker network army stole more than $316.4 million and used it to update its nuclear weapons and continue its ballistic missile development program, which has violated international law.
The Associated Press obtained a summary of a confidential report sent to the Security Council by the U.N. panel of experts on Feb. 8, in which an unnamed country noted that the value of virtual assets stolen by North Korea from 2019 to November 2020 was approximately $316.4 million.
The panel’s investigation found that North Korean cyber activists continued to attack financial institutions and virtual currency clearinghouses in 2020 to finance the development of the country’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile systems.
The Panel has previously reported that the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation, North Korea’s main arms dealer and importer/exporter of missile equipment, has been sanctioned but continues to operate in Iran. In the new report, experts cited the Iranian government’s role in the Iranian economy.
In the new report, experts, citing unnamed countries, disclosed that North Korea and Iran have resumed cooperation on long-range missile development programs, including the transfer of critical components, with the most recent delivery of related goods in 2020. In response to a query on Dec. 21, Iran alleged that the information provided by the Panel of Experts was based on false information and fabricated data.
The Panel also revealed that Kim Jong-un’s regime has not only continued to maintain its nuclear weapons facilities but has also manufactured key nuclear weapons materials over the past two years; in addition, the Kim Jong-un administration has demonstrated new short-range, medium-range, submarine-launched and intercontinental ballistic missiles in military parades, and announced that it has tested and manufactured new warheads, strategic nuclear weapons, and even updated its ballistic missile infrastructure.
Since North Korea’s first nuclear test in 2006, the UN Security Council has imposed tougher and tougher sanctions on Pyongyang, banning most exports and severely restricting imports in an attempt to pressure the country to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile development programs. But according to the latest report, North Korea is still able to bypass sanctions to develop nuclear weapons and illegally import refined oil, as well as access international financial channels and conduct “egregious cyber activities.
Kim Jong-un Shouts “Strengthen Military Capabilities”
At the 8th National Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Kim Jong-un declared that he would strengthen his military capabilities to defend the country against foreign threats and safeguard national security.
Kim Jong-un and former U.S. President Donald Trump held a second summit, but denuclearization talks have now stalled. North Korea announced a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear weapons testing and test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles in 2018, yet it continues to cry out for continued expansion of its nuclear arsenal.
Although North Korea will not conduct nuclear or ballistic missile tests in 2020, Pyongyang authorities have announced that they are prepared to test and produce new ballistic missile warheads and develop tactical nuclear weapons.
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