South Korea’s Plan to Track, Freeze North Korean Crypto Assets

According to reports, the government of South Korea intends to introduce a bill that will track and freeze North Korean crypto and virtual assets that are used to finance Pyongyang’s illegal weapons program.

Multiple anonymous government sources verified on August 3 that the bill is currently being drafted, according to a report from the JoongAng Daily.

According to a report, an anonymous government official stated that the measure will reflect the president’s belief that the country’s cybersecurity framework needs to be repaired.

The most recent version of the bill includes provisions to “track and neutralize” crypto and other virtual assets seized by North Korea via hacks and exploits, according to a second unnamed administration source.

This was not included in the law proposed by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in November 2022, according to the report. In addition to the new cybersecurity bill, the administration reportedly intends to establish a national cybersecurity committee directly under the president’s authority.

The committee implements various measures to strengthen the nation’s defenses against foreign espionage attempts. This committee will be led by the director of the National Security Information System, according to the report.

Using a variety of exploits, North Korean hackers have seized a vast quantity of digital assets from numerous victims. TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence firm, estimated on August 18 that approximately $2 billion had been lost to North Korean cyberattacks since 2018.

The data indicates that North Korea was responsible for the theft of $200 million worth of cryptocurrencies in 2023, which represents 20% of all funds stolen this year.

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is also attempting to monitor North Korean state-sponsored hackers. On Aug. 23, the FBI flagged six Bitcoin wallets connected to the North Korean cybercrime group Lazarus.

The wallets contained 1,580 bitcoins valued at $40 million, which are believed to be the result of multiple breaches.