The U.S. on Thursday sanctioned six individuals and two companies accused of aiding North Korea in running a global scheme using remote IT workers to defraud businesses and funnel hundreds of millions of dollars into the hermit kingdom’s weapons programs.
The sanctions, revealed by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and first reported by CBS News, target networks that allegedly helped North Korean operatives pose as legitimate information technology specialists, securing jobs at legitimate companies using stolen identities, forged documents and fake online personas.
Treasury officials say the program has become a major revenue stream for Pyongyang, with the regime tapping most of the wages earned by these remote IT workers to rack up funds supporting North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development. U.S. officials estimate the scheme brought in nearly $800 million in 2024 alone.
In some cases, authorities say the workers have also planted malware in company networks used to steal sensitive or proprietary information.
Thursday’s sanctions targeted both facilitators and companies connected to the operation in North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Spain.
Among those designated is Amnokgang Technology Development Company, a North Korean IT firm accused of dispatching workers overseas and procuring military and commercial technology through its foreign web. Nguyen Quang Viet, the CEO of Vietnam-based Quangvietdnbg International Services Company Limited was also sanctioned. Treasury officials allege the criminal enterprise converted about $2.5 million into cryptocurrency for North Koreans between mid-2023 and mid-2025, including funds earned through the IT-worker plot.
The U.S. Treasury on Thursday also sanctioned several individuals accused of helping to move or hide money linked to the burgeoning operation, including associates of already-sanctioned North Korean nuclear procurement facilitator Kim Se Un.
Officials say another North Korean national, Yun Song Guk, oversaw a group of freelance IT workers operating out of Boten, Laos to coordinate illicit payments and contracts for services linked to foreign partners.
CBS News previously reported on hiring practices at a Houston technology firm that exposed a suspected North Korean infiltration effort tied to funding Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.
Under the new sanctions, any property or financial interests belonging to the designated individuals and entities that are in the United States or controlled by U.S. persons are blocked. U.S. citizens and companies are generally prohibited from conducting transactions with sanctioned organizations, and treasury officials routinely warn that financial institutions risk facing steep penalties if they help sanctioned individuals evade restrictions.
The announcement comes as U.S. officials continue to warn that North Korea has increasingly turned to cyber-powered operations and remote technology work to generate hard currency for development of its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile program.
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