{"id":53530,"date":"2025-11-07T09:39:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T02:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/seoul-considers-sanctions-on-north-korea-following-us-crypto-crackdown\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T09:39:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T02:39:48","slug":"seoul-considers-sanctions-on-north-korea-following-us-crypto-crackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/vi\/seoul-considers-sanctions-on-north-korea-following-us-crypto-crackdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Seoul Considers Sanctions on North Korea Following US Crypto Crackdown"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<h4 color=\"#333\">In brief<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>South Korea is signaling flexibility following U.S. actions on North Korea\u2019s crypto laundering activities.<\/li>\n<li>The U.S. Treasury has issued a new set of sanctions targeting 8 individuals and 2 entities tied to Pyongyang\u2019s hacks.<\/li>\n<li>Illicit funds have allegedly supported DPRK\u2019s nuclear weapons program.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>South Korea is considering the possibility of revisiting its sanctions framework on North Korea, days after a new U.S. sanction has linked Pyongyang\u2019s crypto theft operations to weapons financing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Speaking in an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.yna.co.kr\/view\/AEN20251106011500320\" target=\"_blank\"><span>interview<\/span><\/a><span> with <\/span><i><span>Yonhap News TV<\/span><\/i><span> on Thursday, Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ji-na said Seoul \u201ccan consider reviewing sanctions as a measure if they are really needed,\u201d citing the importance of U.S.-Korea coordination on digital threats posed by the North.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIn cases of cryptocurrency theft by Pyongyang, coordination between South Korea and the U.S. is important, as it can be used to fund North Korea\u2019s nuclear and missile programs and pose a threat to our digital ecosystem,\u201d Kim said, adding that any potential review would be context-driven.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The official\u2019s remarks follow a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/sb0302\" target=\"_blank\"><span>new set of sanctions<\/span><\/a><span> released by the U.S. Treasury Department earlier this week targeting eight North Korean individuals and two entities for laundering cryptocurrency stolen through cyberattacks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The sanctions included state-run IT front Korea Mangyongdae Computer Technology Company and DPRK-linked financial representatives in China and Russia, with U.S. authorities alleging those entities moved illicit digital funds to support the North\u2019s weapons development programs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Treasury officials also named KMCTC president U Yong Su, along with bankers Jang Kuk Chol and Ho Jong Son, as key <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/346010\/north-korea-stolen-billions-crypto-ability-fight-back-growing-chainalysis\" target=\"_blank\"><span>facilitators of crypto laundering<\/span><\/a><span> tied to ransomware and fraud schemes. Ryujong Credit Bank, another sanctioned entity, reportedly helped repatriate earnings from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/decrypt.co\/329225\/inside-north-korea-hiring-scams-crypto-firms\" target=\"_blank\"><span>North Korean IT workers<\/span><\/a><span> deployed abroad.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The escalation follows \u201cNorth Korea\u2019s nuclear test in 2016,\u201d where \u201clarge-scale exchanges between the two countries were completely severed,\u201d Ryan Yoon, senior analyst at Seoul-based Tiger Research, told <\/span><i><span>Decrypt<\/span><\/i><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cSince then, small-scale sanctions have continued to be imposed,\u201d Yoon said, noting how these aligned with global trends aimed at curbing Pyongyang\u2019s actions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Yoon acknowledges a \u201chigh possibility&#8221; of more sanctions coming in, but notes that the impact may not be as significant. \u201cThis has been happening for decades,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Indeed, the move \u201cwould not be the first time South Korea has issued its own independent sanctions against North Korea following U.S. actions,\u201d Angela Ang, head of policy and strategic partnerships for Asia Pacific at TRM Labs, told <\/span><i><span>Decrypt<\/span><\/i><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cSanctions by a major authority like OFAC already have far-reaching implications in cutting off access to the global financial system. Additional sanctions by South Korea would be seen as a reinforcement of these actions,\u201d Ang said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Vice Minister Kim said the U.S. was still finalizing a joint fact sheet on the outcome of the recent summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe U.S. side is currently working on adjusting and reviewing the wording,\u201d Kim said in the televised statement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Decrypt<\/span><\/i><span> reached out to the Treasury Department for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>Daily Debrief Newsletter<\/h3>\n<p>Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In brief South Korea is signaling flexibility following U.S. actions on North Korea\u2019s crypto laundering activities. The U.S. Treasury has [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":53533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[220],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tien-dien-tu"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}