U.S. sanctions North Korean scheme funding weapons via remote workers
On Thursday, the U.S. imposed sanctions on six individuals and two companies accused of helping North Korea run a global operation using remote IT workers to scam businesses and channel hundreds of millions of dollars into the country’s weapons programs, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
The sanctions, revealed by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control and first reported by CBS News, target networks that allegedly helped North Korean operatives pose as legitimate information technology specialists, securing jobs at legitimate companies using stolen identities, forged documents and fake online personas.
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Treasury officials say the program has become a major revenue stream for Pyongyang, with the regime tapping most of the wages earned by these remote IT workers to rack up funds supporting North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development. U.S. officials estimate the scheme brought in nearly $800 million in 2024 alone.
In some cases, authorities say the workers have also planted malware in company networks used to steal sensitive or proprietary information.
Thursday's sanctions targeted both facilitators and companies connected to the operation in North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Spain.
Among those designated is Amnokgang Technology Development Company, a North Korean IT firm accused of dispatching workers overseas and procuring military and commercial technology through its foreign web. Nguyen Quang Viet, the CEO of Vietnam-based Quangvietdnbg International Services Company Limited was also sanctioned. Treasury officials allege the criminal enterprise converted about $2.5 million into cryptocurrency for North Koreans between mid-2023 and mid-2025, including funds earned through the IT-worker plot.
The U.S. Treasury on Thursday also sanctioned several individuals accused of helping to move or hide money linked to the burgeoning operation, including associates of already-sanctioned North Korean nuclear procurement facilitator Kim Se Un.
Officials say another North Korean national, Yun Song Guk, oversaw a group of freelance IT workers operating out of Boten, Laos to coordinate illicit payments and contracts for services linked to foreign partners.
By Ulviyya Salmanli
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