The U.S. government has announced new sanctions against three North Korean nationals and a company for running fake IT job schemes to earn illegal money for North Korea.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the sanctions target Korea Sobaeksu Trading Company and individuals Kim Se Un, Jo Kyong Hun, and Myong Chol Min.
These IT scams involve skilled North Korean tech workers using fake or stolen identities to get jobs at companies, including those in the United States. Once hired, the money they earn is secretly sent back to the North Korean government to help fund its nuclear and missile programs.
According to the U.S. government:
- Korea Sobaeksu Trading Company is a front company that sends IT workers overseas and buys materials for weapons programs.
- Kim Se Un helped run smaller companies, hired IT workers in other countries like Vietnam, and worked to earn money for the regime.
- Jo Kyong Hun managed cryptocurrency and financial activities linked to North Korea’s IT projects.
- Myong Chol Min tried to import goods like tobacco to raise funds and helped the company avoid existing sanctions.
The new sanctions mean that any U.S. assets belonging to these individuals or the company are frozen, and U.S. people and businesses are banned from doing business with them.
This is part of a bigger effort by the U.S. to stop North Korea’s illegal activities. Earlier this month, the U.S. shut down “laptop farms” used by fake IT workers and charged 14 people. Another North Korean, Song Kum Hyok, believed to be part of the Andariel hacking group, was also sanctioned recently.
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To help catch the individuals behind these schemes, the U.S. State Department is offering rewards of up to $7 million for information leading to their arrest or conviction.
