North Korea Smiles as Bitcoin Surpasses $51,000

Damage from North Korean hacking targeting virtual assets reaches 1.4 trillion KRW
US Department of Justice indicts 3 North Korean hackers
Attention amid Bitcoin surge
Possible use as a sanction evasion tool
Bitcoin surpasses $51,000 following BlackRock's investment mention

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted three North Korean hackers who hacked virtual assets. As it has been revealed that North Korea attempted to evade sanctions through virtual assets, there are calls for active countermeasures against this.

Despite hacking concerns, the price of Bitcoin surpassed $51,000 on the day as BlackRock, the world's largest fund company, mentioned investment.

North Korean hacker indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice (Photo by U.S. Department of Justice)

On the 17th (local time), the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it indicted three hackers affiliated with North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau on charges of stealing or attempting to steal more than $1.3 billion (about 1.4 trillion won) in cash and virtual assets from banks and companies worldwide.

According to the indictment, the indicted hackers use the names Park Jin-hyuk, Jeon Chang-hyuk, and Kim Il. They belong to the Reconnaissance General Bureau, North Korea's military intelligence agency. The Reconnaissance General Bureau operates hacking units known by various names such as the Lazarus Group and APT38.

According to U.S. prosecutors, they created the ransomware 'WannaCry' in May 2017 and hacked banks and virtual asset exchanges. Virtual asset exchanges in Slovenia, Indonesia, and New York suffered hacking damages.

The Department of Justice stated that they distributed numerous malicious virtual asset applications and promoted blockchain platforms identified as fraudulent. A representative example is the virtual asset called 'Marine Chain,' which was promoted to evade sanctions against North Korea.

John Demers, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the Department of Justice, condemned, "North Korean operatives who steal virtual asset wallets using keyboards are the bank robbers of the world."

Tracy Wilkinson, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said, "The criminal acts of North Korean hackers are state-sponsored crimes that stop at nothing to obtain money to sustain the regime."

U.S. media paid attention to the fact that the indictment includes hacking of virtual assets.

CNBC reported that the indictment was revealed amid the recent ultra-strong surge of Bitcoin prices surpassing $50,000, citing it as an example showing concerns about the possibility of Bitcoin hacking.

The Washington Post reported that this case shows the increasing extent to which North Korea relies on financial cyber theft to evade U.N. and U.S. sanctions.