U.S. Targets North Korea's Crypto Funds Fueling Nuclear Weapons

The U.S. Treasury has escalated its campaign against North Korea's illicit financial networks, sanctioning eight individuals and two entities for their roles in laundering over $2 billion in cryptocurrency stolen through cyberattacks and IT worker schemes. The November 4 action by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targets key figures and institutions that facilitate the regime's efforts to fund its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs despite global sanctions, according to CryptoNews.

The sanctions focus on North Korean bankers Jang Kuk Chol and Ho Jong Son, who managed $5.3 million in cryptocurrency on behalf of the state-owned First Credit Bank, a previously designated institution linked to ransomware activities. Also implicated are entities like the Korea Mangyongdae Computer Technology Company and Ryujong Credit Bank, which operated IT worker delegations in China and provided financial services to evade sanctions, as reported by crypto.news. These networks used cryptocurrency mixers, shell companies, and intermediaries in China and Russia to obscure transactions, enabling the DPRK to convert stolen digital assets into hard currency, as detailed by CoinDesk.

Treasury officials emphasized that North Korea's cyber-enabled theft—unmatched by any other nation—has surged to over $3 billion in three years, with blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reporting $2 billion in 2025 alone. The regime's tactics include AI-driven hacking tools, malware, and social engineering to breach cryptocurrency exchanges and firms. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley stated that these activities "directly threaten U.S. and global security," according to BBC News.

The OFAC designations also highlight the role of North Korean IT workers, who operate under false identities to infiltrate global financial systems. In 2022, the Treasury warned U.S. companies against hiring these workers, who often pose as remote employees to access financial networks. The latest sanctions extend to representatives of North Korean financial institutions operating in China and Russia, underscoring the transnational nature of the regime's evasion strategies, as reported by AP News.

The action aligns with broader efforts to disrupt North Korea's sanctions evasion, including a recent multilateral report detailing how cyber theft and IT contracting fund weapons programs. By targeting financial facilitators, the Treasury aims to sever the DPRK's ability to convert stolen crypto into usable currency, a critical lifeline for its military ambitions.