(Photo : Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - OCTOBER 10: A man watchs a television show North Korea ruling party's founding 75th anniversary day military parade released by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) at the Seoul Railway Station on October 10, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea. North Korea held a nighttime military parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of its ruling Workers' Party on Saturday, state TV showed Saturday.
A classified report has claimed that North Korean hackers stole hundreds of millions of dollars throughout the majority of 2020 to fund the nuclear and ballistic missile programs of their country, violating international law based on the United Nations' confidential report.
Based on the United Nations' document, the regime of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un is now accused of conducting operations targeting the financial institutions and virtual currency exchange houses as a way of paying weapons and keeping the struggling economy of North Korea afloat.
According to CNN, the document stated that an unnamed nation, which is also part of the U.N., claimed that the North Korean hackers stole virtual assets reaching $316.4 million starting from 2019 until November of 2020.
The report also mentioned that North Korea allegedly produced fissile material, upgraded its ballistic missile infrastructure, and maintained nuclear facilities while continuing its search for material and technology for the said programs internationally.
North Korean Nuclear Arsenal
For years, North Korea has been developing its nuclear power and focused on advancing its missile program.
Despite the massive production cost and the pursuit of the goals resulting in an international pariah and got it barred by the United Nations from conducting most economic activity with other countries, as Business Insider reported, the Hermit state was still able to create progress in their program.
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Also, investigators from the U.N. shared that it is most likely North Korea that could mount a nuclear device to a ballistic missile of any range based on the unnamed country's assessment. However, it is still not clear whether those missiles could successfully reenter the Earth's atmosphere, Forbes reported.
Moreover, the report was authored by the body in charge of monitoring the enforcement and efficacy of sanctions levied against Kim's regime, known as the U.N. Panel of Experts on North Korea.
It is a body that checks the nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development of the Hermit state.
CNN obtained the confidential report details through a diplomatic source at the Security Council of the U.N., who is sharing portions of the classified document on the condition of anonymity.
The U.N. Panel of Experts report on North Korea comprises information received from other United Nations members, the media, other intelligence agencies, and even defectors.
The classified information regarding the latest movement of the North Korean hackers is only a part of reports that are normally released in six months intervals, one during the early fall and another in early spring.
On the other hand, it is not clear whether or when the UN will release the said report.
Previously, leaks have infuriated Russia and China, which are both members of the U.N.'s Security Council, and have led to diplomatic standoffs and delays.
When requested for comments regarding the said claims in the report, North Korea's mission to the United Nations did not respond, but the report is in line with the recent plans laid out by the Supreme Leader.
