Particle.news
Download on the App Store
13 ARTICLES
·
3h ago

U.S., Japan and South Korea Sanction Facilitators, Issue Joint Warning on North Korea’s Fake IT Worker Schemes

Treasury named two people plus two firms tied to operations in Russia, Laos, China, reflecting a broader public‑private drive following a Tokyo forum with Mandiant.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - 2025/05/09: People watch a 24-hour Yonhap News TV broadcast on a large screen at Seoul Railway Station, showing footage of a joint striking drill involving long-range artillery and missile systems conducted by the Korean People's Army eastern front division at an undisclosed location in North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a joint striking drill involving long-range artillery and a new variant of tactical ballistic missiles, reaffirming the combat readiness of the country’s nuclear forces, state media KCNA reported on May 9. The exercise featured a 600mm multiple rocket launcher and the Hwasongpho-11-Ka tactical ballistic missile. South Korea’s military detected multiple short-range ballistic missile launches from Wonsan between 8:10 and 9:20 a.m. on May 8—North Korea’s fourth missile test of the year. (Photo by Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
This file photo, released by Reuters, shows a sign marking the U.S Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 6, 2018. (Yonhap)
Image
Image

Overview

  • OFAC designated Kim Ung-sun, Korea Sinjin Trading Corp., Shenyang Geumpungri Network Technology Co., and Russian national Vitaliy Sergeyevich Andreyev for supporting North Korea’s fraudulent IT worker operations.
  • A trilateral joint statement warned that DPRK operatives mask identities and locations, leverage AI tools and foreign facilitators, and increasingly target blockchain work, creating theft, reputational, and legal risks for employers.
  • Officials said the sanctioned network operates through Russia, Laos, and China, and that revenues from these schemes fund North Korea’s WMD and ballistic missile programs in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
  • Treasury detailed that Andreyev helped route funds to the previously sanctioned Chinyong IT company and worked with Kim Ung-sun to convert cryptocurrency to U.S. dollars, with at least $1 million tied to the network.
  • The new designations bar U.S. persons from transacting with the listed parties, expose related assets to seizure, and signal heightened compliance expectations for hiring platforms, payment providers, crypto firms, AI and Web3 companies.