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☆ Record $3.8 billion stolen in crypto hacks last year, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —A record $3.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency was stolen from various services last year, with much of those thefts driven by North Korean-linked hackers, according to a report Wednesday from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. Some of the biggest crypto hacks of the year have since been attributed to North Korea. US officials worry Pyongyang will use money stolen from crypto hacks to fund its illicit nuclear and ballistic weapons program. While crypto hacks continued to rise last year, there is some cause for hope. Law enforcement and national security agencies are expanding their abilities to combat digital criminals, such as the FBI’s recovery of $30 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen in the Axie Infinity hack.

☆ North Korea is said to lift 5-day lockdown in capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, South Korea — Russia’s embassy in North Korea says the country has eased stringent epidemic controls in the capital, Pyongyang, that were placed during the past five days to slow the spread of respiratory illnesses. North Korean state media in recent weeks have stressed vigilance against a possible re-emergence of Covid-19. From May to August, North Korea reported about 4.8 million “fever cases” across its population of 26 million but identified only a fraction of them as Covid-19. North Korea has dubiously insisted that rival South Korea was responsible for its Covid-19 outbreak, saying that the virus was transported by anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets and other materials flown across the border by balloons launched by South Korean civilian activists. South Korea has dismissed such claims as unscientific and “ridiculous.”

☆ North Korea has delivered rockets, missiles to Russian Wagner Group mercenaries for use in Ukraine, White House says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

North Korea has delivered rockets and missiles to the Russian private military company known as the Wagner Group for use in Ukraine, according to White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby. “Today we can confirm that North Korea has completed an initial arms delivery to Wagner, which paid for that equipment. Last month, North Korea delivered infantry rockets and missiles into Russia for use by Wagner,” he said Thursday. There are likely to be more actions, like sanctions, taken against the Wagner Group in the coming days, Kirby said. After the White House said North Korea had supplied arms to the Wagner Group, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said, “The U.K. supports the U.S. assessment that North Korea has completed an arms delivery to Russia for use by the Wagner Group, which paid for this equipment and has thousands of troops in Ukraine.

☆ North Korea's record-setting missile tests are showing off weapons it has tried to keep hidden for decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In October, North Korea claimed that it had launched an underwater ballistic missile from a lake. In October, North Korea claimed that it had launched an underwater ballistic missile from a lake. A missile launch from a North Korean lake in a photo released on October 10. The entrance to an "intrusion tunnel" under the DMZ between South and North Korea in September 2006. During the Korean War, UN forces used airpower to relentlessly pound North Korean troops, emplacements, and supply lines.

☆ North Korean cyber spies deploy new tactic: tricking foreign experts into writing research for them
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The sender was actually a suspected North Korean spy seeking information, according to those involved and three cybersecurity researchers. The email is part of a new and previously unreported campaign by a suspected North Korean hacking group, according to the cybersecurity experts, five targeted individuals and emails reviewed by Reuters. MSTIC said it had identified "multiple" North Korea experts who have provided information to a Thallium attacker account. North Korea's embassy in London did not respond to a request for comment, but it has denied being involved in cyber crime. DePetris said the hackers asked him about issues he was already working on, including Japan's response to North Korea's military activities.

☆ North Korea Wants Dollars. It’s a Sign of Trouble.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | Pablo Robles | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +18 min

Media Korean Studies 2016 2008 New Finished New buildings Repainted TAEDONG RIVER TAEDONG RIVER Pyongyang in 2008. Media Korean Studies 2008 2016 New Finished New buildings Repainted TAEDONG RIVER TAEDONG RIVER Pyongyang in 2008. Under Mr. Kim, North Korea has opened a new terminal at the city’s international airport, renovated subway stations and opened new amusement parks. Missile tests this year alone cost North Korea hundreds of millions of dollars, according to estimates by South Korean and American researchers. An array of cell phones, assembled in North Korea with components imported from China, is on sale and advertised on state TV.

☆ North Korea's internet temporarily knocked offline, researcher says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Nov 17 (Reuters) - North Korea's internet was hit by the largest outages in months on Thursday, a cybersecurity researcher told Reuters, after similar service interruptions in January were blamed on suspected cyber attacks. Internet access is strictly limited in North Korea. "This isn’t like a single web server is being taken offline," he said, citing monitoring records that he shared with Reuters. "The network stress is so great their Domain Name System (DNS) servers have been taken offline and eventually the key routers allowing traffic in and out of the country entirely." North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website and Naenara, which is the official portal for the North Korean government, appeared to see the brunt of the suspected attack, before it became so great the entire internet was taken offline, Ali said.

☆ North Korea sees more use of cell phones, WiFi networks - U.S. researchers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Up to 7 million North Koreans use cell phones daily, and WiFi networks have sharply expanded in recent years as the mobile devices increasingly became a key tool for market activity in the isolated country, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday. Since 3G network services began in 2008, the number of users has risen to 6.5 million to 7 million, more than a quarter of North Korea's 25 million population, the researchers said. The country's antiquated 3G network and limits on foreign investment in upgrades because of sanctions over its weapons programmes has prompted the emergence of faster WiFi networks around the country, Williams said. The WiFi networks do not offer any Internet access but provide connections to domestic services, especially scientific databases for the research community, he added. The private sector has overtaken state-led agents to become North Korea's biggest economic actor in recent years, with its rationing system crumbling and leader Kim Jong Un allowing markets abhorred by his father.

☆ Biden will seek to establish red lines in high stakes meeting with China’s Xi
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Carol-Lee-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Even so, the White House is downplaying any hope of a major breakthrough when Biden sits down with Xi in person. “I don’t think personal diplomacy will help that much,” said Victor Cha, a former director for Asian affairs in George W. Bush’s White House. The Biden administration sees Xi as the leader of a bullying nation with visions of global dominance. “We recognize that with each launch, [the North Koreans] learn something,” the senior Biden administration official said. But like Biden, Xi will also arrive at the meeting having fortified his position at home.

☆ North Korea fires ballistic missile toward sea, South says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile toward its eastern sea on Wednesday as it extended a recent barrage of weapons demonstrations including what it described as simulated attacks on South Korean and U.S. targets last week. Some experts earlier said the results of the U.S. elections were not likely to change the Biden administration’s policies on North Korea. North Korea fired dozens of missiles last week, including an intercontinental ballistic missile that set off evacuation warnings in northern Japan, in an angry reaction to the U.S.-South Korea military exercises. Some experts say it’s possible that North Korea reached into the inventory of some of its older weapons to support the expanded scale of last week’s launches. “It may be in North Korea’s interest to hold some of its modern capabilities in reserve and test them at opportune occasions.

☆ Analysis: North Korea's missile launches show no scarcity of weapons funding, materials despite sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Last week the country fired more than 80 missiles, including its latest short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) and a new variant of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), by far the North's most launches in such a short period. North Korean state media showed older SCUD-type missiles were also fired. Analysts and sanctions experts say North Korea continues to rely on materials and other inputs from overseas. "Russia and China are where most of the overseas North Korean ballistic missile procurement agents are based," said Hugh Griffiths, a former coordinator for a U.N. panel of experts that monitors sanctions on North Korea, and now an independent sanctions consultant. North Korea wants to import some 100 tons of solid propellant by 2030, according to the advisory.

North Korea accused the United States and South Korea of provoking tensions on the peninsula. “I think we should focus on the facts not on what North Korea claims.”North Korea didn't release information about the specific missile models test fired last week. North Korea missile launches, unknown location, North Korea, November 2022. “What if North Korea conducted tests to obtain certain data it wanted to verify during the missile development?” Kim asked. Shin said the multiple launches could be a sign that North Korea is racing to prove its capabilities.

☆ Analysis: Sanctions fail to halt North Korea's accelerating weapons programs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( David Brunnstrom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Biden administration officials concede that sanctions have failed to stop North Korea's weapons programs - but they maintain they have at least been effective in slowing North Korea's nuclear program. The Security Council has imposed sanctions on North Korea since 2006 to choke off funding for it nuclear and ballistic missile programs. However U.N. experts regularly report that North Korea is evading sanctions and continuing to develop its programs. Some critics like sanctions expert Joshua Stanton fault both the Trump and Biden administrations for failing to exert maximum pressure to stop China allowing North Korea's sanctions evasion. He rejected the idea that Washington should recognize North Korea as a nuclear-armed state.

☆ Analysis: U.S. and allies turn to deterring war with North Korea as options for preventing nuclear tests dwindle
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Now that the North's nuclear weapons are mature and deployed, the United States and its allies are looking to simply dissuade the North from military action. South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup said last week the focus of efforts to deal with North Korea should be shifted from curbing nuclear weapons development to deterring their use. The newly released U.S. Nuclear Posture Review says Kim Jong Un's regime would be annihilated if it ever attacked with nuclear weapons. Another major drill began on Monday with hundreds of South Korean and U.S. warplanes, including a rare deployment of American F-35B fighters. "They're doing it because they want to send a message to North Korea, hey, we mean business," he said.

Some experts argue that recognizing North Korea as a nuclear-armed state, something Pyongyang seeks, is a prerequisite for such talks. North Korea has rejected U.S. calls to return to talks. Asked if it was time to accept North Korea as a nuclear state, she replied: "Wording aside, we are committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. We do not accept North Korea with that status. "She was acknowledging, as other officials in other administrations have, that North Korea does have nuclear weapons, but in violation of its commitments under the NPT not to pursue nuclear weapons," he told Reuters.

☆ S.Korean court issues arrest warrants for former security leaders over official slain by North
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Joori Roh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Oct 22 (Reuters) - A South Korean court on Saturday issued arrest warrants for a former defence minister and a former coast guard chief over their alleged mishandling of the death of a state fishery ministry employee at the hands of North Korean troops two years ago. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe two face charges that include dereliction of duty, abuse of power, forging official documents, and covering up and distorting facts in the case. Lee's death has become a sensitive issue in South Korea, in part because of the fight by his brother to clear his name. The previous administration of President Moon Jae-in had portrayed his death as a failed defection attempt due to his gambling debts, mental health issues and an unhappy life. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Joori Roh; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Reports shed new light on last hours of S.Korean slain by North in 2020
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, Oct 20 (Reuters) - An investigation by the government of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is raising fresh questions about the death of a South Korean official in 2020, which the previous administration wrote off as a failed defection attempt. Prosecutors on Tuesday filed for arrest warrants against a former defence minister and the former coast guard chief. The parliamentary report concludes that the coast guard and navy violated rules during their initial rescue efforts by failing to seek help from other vessels and authorities nearby. In June 2022, the coast guard apologised for "causing confusion", and its chief and eight other senior officials resigned. Prosecutors have raided a presidential archive and the offices and homes of two former intelligence chiefs, a former defence minister and the resigned coast guard head.

☆ North Korean missile launch raises alarm in Washington
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-04 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

This latest North Korean missile test — the 23rd year to date — was different because it marked the first time in five years that a North Korean missile had been fired directly over Japan. The missile was fired late Monday, flying over Japan early on Tuesday morning before landing in the Pacific Ocean. WASHINGTON — The Biden administration responded on multiple levels Tuesday to North Korea's latest long-range ballistic missile launch, reaching out to allies in the region on diplomatic and military fronts, and at the leader level by U.S. President Joe Biden . In airspace over the Yellow Sea off the Korean peninsula, the U.S. and South Korea conducted joint aerial flight and precision targeting exercises on Tuesday in response to the missile launch. While the exercises Tuesday were held specifically in response to the latest missile launch, they also served to strengthen trilateral coordination in the face of a threat that keeps growing, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

☆ 32 photos of North Korea that Kim Jong Un wouldn't want you to see
▼ + stars: | 2020-04-28 | by ( Michelle Mark | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rules the hermit kingdom with an iron fist. National propaganda often presents a fabricated version of day-to-day life for North Koreans. In reality, much of the country lives in poverty and the government controls most aspects of life. Much of the country lives in poverty, tens of thousands of people are held as political prisoners, and the government tightly controls most aspects of life. Here's what North Korea really looks like.

☆ The tangled family history of North Korea's Kim Jong Un
▼ + stars: | 2018-06-09 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: 1 min

The North Korean dictatorship established by Kim Il Sung after World War II was taken over by his son Kim Jong Il in the 1990s. Kim Jong Un succeeded his father in 2011. At left: North Koreans bow in front of bronze statues of late leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il at Munsu Hill in Pyongyang in 2015.

☆ North Korea needs nukes because of its religion
▼ + stars: | 2017-07-08 | by ( Paul French | Foreign Policy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

But even engagement strategies can't stop the relentless move toward a deliverable North Korea nuclear arsenal. President Bill Clinton essentially attempted this in 1994 when he approved $4 billion in "energy aid" to North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un poses with participants during the 8th Congress of the Korean Children's Union (KCU) in Pyongyang, North Korea. A vendor waits for customers at the shop inside the international airport in Pyongyang, North Korea May 3, 2016. But if the world accepts a nuclear North Korea (and it accepted a nuclear Pakistan, as North Koreans have reminded me), then the second half of Kim's theory might just give the kind of pressure that can be used.

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