The US Treasury Department made a statement regarding the sanctions imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The statement said sanctions were imposed on 6 individuals and 2 entities for supporting North Korea‘s “weapons of mass destruction program”.
“Funds obtained through these actors support North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction programs,” the statement said, noting that those sanctioned were from Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates.
“This joint action reflects our determination to disrupt North Korea’s efforts to generate revenue for its illicit and destabilizing activities,” said Brian E. Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, in a statement.
In a report prepared by experts from the United Nations (UN), it was claimed that North Korea financed its weapons programs with about half of the foreign currency revenues from its cyber activities.
A 2021 report by experts from the UN Security Council’s North Korea Sanctions Committee claimed that North Korean hackers stole more than $300 million in digital cryptocurrencies in 2020.
