North Korea Arrests Hackers Over Internal Crypto Theft

Investigators believe the stolen crypto was moved through brokers in China. Those brokers converted the digital assets into cash, and contacts near North Korea's border exchanged the funds into fiat currencies, according to the report.

The United Nations, the United States, South Korea, and Japan have repeatedly accused North Korean hacker groups, including the Lazarus Group, of stealing billions of dollars in cryptocurrency. Those groups have been linked to attacks on Ronin Bridge, Harmony Horizon Bridge, Atomic Wallet, Alphapo, CoinEx, DMM Bitcoin, and WazirX.

North Korea has consistently rejected those allegations, calling them politically motivated. If the Daily NK report holds, this case marks a shift – North Korean hackers accused of targeting institutions inside their own country.

Officials have not released the identities of the suspects or likely penalties. Daily NK said investigators discovered the operation after reviewing cryptocurrency transactions tied to state banks.