North Korea stole $2.84B in virtual assets: Report

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) - North Korea stole nearly $2.84 billion worth of virtual assets between early 2024 and September 2025, an international monitoring report released by Seoul's Foreign Ministry showed Wednesday.

The report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) said up to 2,000 North Korean IT workers participated in the cryptocurrency theft to fund North Korea’s regime, Yonhap News reported.

The MSMT was established in late October with the initiative of the US and South Korea, with the participation of nine other countries, to continue sanctions monitoring of North Korea following the disbandment of the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea, a panel tasked with monitoring the implementation of UN sanctions on the country, owing to Russia's veto.

Various assets were stolen from crypto exchanges in the Middle East and Asia, according to the report, which added that Pyongyang has stolen about $1.65 billion in 2025.

The North Korean IT workers who engaged in illicit crypto activities were based in at least eight countries, including China, Russia, Laos and Cambodia, remitting around half of their income to the home country, said the report.

Many were reportedly affiliated with government entities sanctioned under UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, such as the Ministry of Atomic Energy Industry and the Machine-Building Industry Department.

According to the report, as the US has intensified efforts to target North Korean IT workers, Pyongyang has shifted its focus and recently broadened its activities to include small and medium-sized IT companies in Europe.

Additionally, North Korea is believed to be carrying out cyberattacks to steal military, scientific and energy-related data and technologies from countries such as the US, the UK, South Korea and China.

"It illustrates the DPRK's ongoing exploitation of foreign governments, private businesses and the public to steal and fraudulently obtain billions of dollars for its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs," said a statement issued by MSMT participating countries.

The report urged North Korea to pursue meaningful diplomacy and called on all UN member states to work together to maintain peace and security amid threats from Pyongyang and its supporters.​​​​​​​