Cryptocurrencies and Missiles: North Korea Challenges the World

North Korea would finance nearly half of its missile programs with cryptocurrencies. A White House official said so. Indeed, Kim Jong Un’s regime would use stolen cryptocurrency to advance its weapons program. According to Chainalysis, his crypto holdings mostly come from hacks and cyberattacks.

North Korea: what are the motivations behind ballistic development?

North Korea has made significant progress in military matters these last years. Thus, the country is one of the few nations that have nuclear weapons. For the scheme of Kim Jong Unpossession of a nuclear weapon is a safe umbrella for his country. Indeed, for several decades, the latter has been constantly under threat from the West, mainly the United States.

According to a senior American official, the Kim regime put cryptocurrencies contribution to feed its ambition to become a nuclear power. According to the latter, half the military effort north korean east finance by cryptocurrency theft.

Anne Neubergerdeputy national security adviser for cybersecurity and emerging technologies, says the U.S. government “strives to understand how North Korea manages to be so creative in this area.”

U.S. intelligence seeks to identify perpetrators of cyberattacks and recover stolen assets. The group Lazarus is singled out. North Korean hackers are in collusion with the government.

The role of cryptocurrencies in Kim Jong Un’s strategy

Despite threats from the international community, North Korea is pursuing its military ambitions. Indeed, the country recently announced a very powerful missile. Several experts claim that it could reach several countries, including the United States. Kim Jon Un Reportedly Says His Latest Demonstration Has Stimulation “fear and anxiety” among his opponents.

Cryptocurrencies are said to have played an important role in financing Korea’s weapons program. The country’s government is said to be behind several hacks in the sector. For this, he would use the Lazarus group. According to Chainalysis, the latter is responsible for stealing more than $1.7 billion in digital assets in 2022 alone. The FBI has accused Lazarus of being responsible for hacking the Ronin network. The Korean pirates would have pocketed 625 million dollars in this operation. The use of cryptocurrencies by North Korea has what to reinforce the hostility against the sector. Several critics believe that there needs to be more control over crypto transactions.

However, it should be remembered that cryptocurrencies are not only used by criminals. The most striking example to illustrate this is the Russia-Ukraine conflict. If Russia uses cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions, Ukraine uses cryptos to support its war effort.