Year: 2025

The post South Korea open to revisiting sanctions on North Korea after latest U. S. crackdown appeared com. With Washington tightening the screws on North Korea’s crypto-funded nuclear weapons programme, South Korea says it’s open to rethinking its own sanctions playbook. Summary South Korea may review its sanctions approach after the U. S. issued fresh actions targeting North Korea. The U. S. Treasury has sanctioned several individuals and entities with ties to North Korea. South Korea will coordinate closely with the U. S. to curb North Korea’s crypto-funded weapons program. During a recent interview, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ji-na told local media that “coordination between South Korea and the United States” is important to address cryptocurrency theft by North Korean hackers, which can be “used to fund North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes and pose a threat to our digital ecosystem.” North Korea has long used state‑sanctioned hacking groups like Lazarus and Kimsuky to target the cryptocurrency sector using a wide range of complex attack vectors that have quietly funnelled billions into Pyongyang’s weapons apparatus. To curb these operations, the United States has used sanctions and other enforcement actions to cripple the networks behind these schemes and cut off illicit revenue streams that fuel the regime’s weapons development. South Korea’s latest stance comes right after the U. S. unveiled a fresh batch of sanctions through its Treasury Department, targeting what it called key financial conduits in North Korea’s crypto laundering network. “The DPRK relies on a vast network of internationally located representatives of DPRK financial institutions who provide access to international markets and financial systems [.] in support of its WMD and ballistic missile programs,” the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said. Entities involved in the scheme included Korea Mangyongdae Computer Technology Company, which Treasury officials say operates IT worker cells from Chinese cities like Shenyang and Dandong. Ryujong Credit Bank was identified as a key player in sanctions.