North Korea arrests former military hackers accused of stealing state bank funds via cryptocurrency

North Korean authorities detained a group of former military hackers on the night of July 12 in Pyongyang, saying they breached the Central Bank and the Foreign Trade Bank, diverted foreign‑currency and state‑trading funds into overseas cryptocurrency wallets, and exchanged the assets for US dollars and Chinese yuan through brokers in China. The arrests were carried out by the National Intelligence Agency after anomalies were spotted in foreign‑currency transfer approvals and suspicious foreign IP activity. According to an anonymous source cited by media outlets, the suspects were discharged members of a cyber unit within the Reconnaissance and Intelligence General Bureau who recruited technical specialists from local universities to run the illicit operation. Equipment, including disposable phones and computers, was seized, and officials warned that the families of the accused could face severe repercussions. The report remains unverified as it is based on a single, unnamed source.

The incident highlights a rare case in which North Korea’s own state‑sponsored cyber capabilities were allegedly turned against its own financial institutions, raising concerns about internal controls and the broader use of cryptocurrency for money‑laundering.