TL;DR Breakdown
- Proceeds from the crypto exchange hack by North Korea were used to fund nuclear missiles.
- Involved accounts were frozen and about $275 million loss was recorded.
- 80% of stolen funds was recovered by Kucoin.
North Korea allegedly funding nukes with crypto exchange funds – United Nations
North Korea has been accused by the United Nations of hacking crypto accounts on an exchange as far back as September 2020, and using the $281 million proceeds to fund its nuclear missiles.
According to Reuters, there seems to be a connection between the hackers and the North Korea government. UN experts also said that “primary analysis based on the attack and the efforts to squash the illicit proceeds strongly suggests connection to the DPRK.”
A counter balance. What is at stake?
Even though there are strong speculations around the alleged exchange, Frank Van Weert, head of Whale Alert, said that the report must be related to the KuCoin hack which happened in September 2020, and resulted in the loss of about $275 million.
Consequently, all crypto accounts associated with the attack have been frozen by Tether and other major crypto exchange companies. About 80% of the stolen fund has also been recovered, says KuCoin.
Meanwhile, according to sources and reports from the U.N, there was a breach of agreement and exchange which resulted in DeFi protocols being exploited. It was also reported that North Korea made roughly $2 billion in 2019 through cyberattacks targeted at banks and crypto exchanges.
The government was also accused of stealing about $316.3M worth of digital assets and about $36M worth of crypto all between 2019 and 2020, using the KuCoin hack as a cover up. It is also believed that Vigril Griffith, an Ethereum developer, who was accused of conspiring with the regime to carry out the fraudulent acts would soon be dragged to court.
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