North Korea is exploiting cryptocurrencies and overseas IT operations to bypass United Nations sanctions and finance its weapons development, according to a new report by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT).
The international group found that Pyongyang used digital assets to trade raw materials and military equipment while dispatching thousands of information-technology workers abroad to generate illicit revenue.
Under leader Kim Jong-un, North Korea has dramatically expanded its cyber capabilities, turning hacking into a major source of foreign currency amid sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes.
Between January and September 2025, North Korean hackers allegedly stole at least US$1.65 billion, including US$1.4 billion from crypto exchange Bybit in February alone. The group said this comes on top of US$1.2 billion in cryptocurrency thefts recorded in 2024.
According to the report, the stolen funds were channelled into “the unlawful development of its WMD and ballistic-missile programmes.”
Investigators found that North Korean officials used stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to fiat currency, for procurement transactions, including the sale of military hardware and raw materials such as copper, used in munitions production.
To further skirt sanctions, Pyongyang deployed IT workers to at least eight countries, including China, Russia, Laos, Cambodia, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Nigeria, and Tanzania.
The report said North Korea also plans to send 40,000 labourers to Russia, many of them from the IT sector, despite UN prohibitions on overseas earnings by North Korean nationals.
The MSMT noted that North Korea’s partnership with Russia has deepened since Pyongyang supplied weapons and troops to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
It cited findings from 38 North, a US-based think-tank, revealing that North Korean IT workers, disguising their identities, had worked on animation projects subcontracted by companies linked to Amazon and HBO Max.
Amazon said it had no direct ties with the individuals involved and that they were never granted internal access. HBO did not comment.
The MSMT, formed in 2024, includes members from 11 countries and monitors global violations of UN sanctions on North Korea.