The US is imposing sanctions on North Korea’s plan to use remote operators to support its weapons program
The United States on Thursday sanctioned six people and two companies accused of helping North Korea using a global scheme using remote IT staff extorting businesses and funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into the hermit kingdom’s weapons programs.
The sanctions, revealed by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and first reported by CBS News, target networks that allegedly helped North Korean workers pose as legitimate information technology professionals, getting jobs at legitimate companies using stolen identities, forged documents and online impersonators.
Finance Ministry officials say the program has become a major revenue stream for Pyongyang, as the regime uses most of the salaries earned by these remote IT workers to fund North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development. US officials estimate that the program will bring in about $800 million in 2024 alone.
In some cases, authorities say employees have even planted malware on corporate networks used to steal sensitive or confidential information.
Thursday’s sanctions target lobbyists and companies linked to operations in North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Spain.
Among those named is Amnokgang Technology Development Company, a North Korean IT firm accused of sending workers overseas and buying military and commercial technology through its offshore web. Nguyen Quang Viet, CEO of Vietnam-based Quangvietdnbg International Services Company Limited was also punished. Treasury officials allege that the criminal enterprise converted about $2.5 million in secret money to North Koreans between 2023 and mid-2025, including money obtained through an IT employee conspiracy.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday also sanctioned several people accused of helping to move or hide money related to the nuclear deal, including associates of North Korea’s nuclear weapons aide Kim Se Un.
Officials say another North Korean citizen, Yun Song Guk, oversaw a team of freelance IT workers working out of Boten, Laos to coordinate illegal payments and service contracts linked to foreign partners.
CBS News previously reported on hiring practices at a Houston-based technology company that exposed an alleged effort to infiltrate North Korea linked to financing Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.
Under the new sanctions, any assets or financial interests of selected individuals and businesses in the United States or controlled by US persons are blocked. US citizens and companies are generally prohibited from conducting transactions with sanctioned entities, and treasury officials regularly warn that financial institutions risk facing heavy penalties if they help sanctioned individuals evade sanctions.
The announcement comes as US officials continue to warn that North Korea has turned more to cyber-powered operations and remote technology operations to generate hard cash to develop its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
