The South Korean government plans to introduce a bill that will allow it to track and freeze crypto assets used by North Korea for its weapons program, local media outlet Korea JonngAng Daily reported on Sept. 4.
The National Intelligence Agency initially introduced the bill in November 2022. Subsequently, President Yoon Suk Yeon issued orders for revisions, leading to a ten-month process that involved working with various government agencies.
The revised bill contains one notable addition, which includes provisions for monitoring and limiting cryptocurrency assets stolen by North Korea through hacking activities. In addition, the bill aims to increase sanctions against the neighboring country.
North Korea has been linked to several crypto hacks.
North Korea, already facing severe economic sanctions from Western powers and allies, is increasingly relying on ill-gotten crypto assets and proceeds from illicit businesses. The Asian country is accused of sponsoring hackers who exploit crypto projects to fund their weapons program of the United Nations and other Western powers.
For context, the US has traced several crypto breaches to North Korea-affiliated hacker-controlled wallets, such as the Ronin bridge exploit, which saw over $600 million in assets stolen.
Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics company, estimates that North Korean hackers have stolen more than $3 billion in the past five years. South Korean intelligence reports that North Korea stole a whopping $1.2 billion worth of BTC and ETH in 2022 alone. a CryptoStores A report shows that hackers backed by North Korea have stolen $497 million worth of cryptocurrencies from US companies since 2017.
The post-South Korean bill to freeze crypto assets from North Korea first appeared on CryptoSlate.