The South Korean government says it is imposing sanctions on 15 North Koreans who engage in illegal cyber activities to raise money for their totalitarian state.
In a statement, the South Korean Foreign Ministry named the individuals – Park Heung-ryong, Yoon Jung-sik, Lee Il-jin, Kim Kyung-il, Kang Hyun-cheol, Kim Cheol-min, Lee Geum-hyung, Kim Ryu-sung, Hwang-cheol, Ahn Il-nam, Seung-cheol-beom, Lee Young-rim and Park Dong-hyun – were sanctioned for funding North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program.
The sanctioned individuals work as IT personnel abroad, particularly in China, Russia, Southeast Asia and Africa, where they allegedly conceal their identities to work for IT companies or engage in information theft and cyberattacks.
The IT staff is believed to report to the 313 General Bureau, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Military and Industry that oversees North Korea’s weapons production, research and development.
South Korea is also imposing sanctions on the Chosun Geumjeong Economic Information Technology Exchange Company, which is allegedly involved in sending North Korean IT personnel abroad to…
