US Sanctions North Korea IT Fraud Network — SkimNews
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- Treasury Department imposed sanctions Wednesday on what it called North Korean government-run schemes that use IT workers to fraudulently gain employment with companies in the United States and elsewhere, with Pyongyang taking most of the workers' wages to fund weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.
- First Financial and Technical Development Center was the targeted entity, with six of the sanctioned individuals linked to that firm; the action also covers facilitators and North Korean IT workers based in North Korea and Russia.
- Australia and the European Union also imposed North Korea-related sanctions this month, backing Treasury's warning that the networks "permeate through the global financial system, necessitating a unified response to match the threat."
- Treasury Department had already sanctioned a separate North Korean IT worker network in March, making this the second U.S. move aimed at the same labor-and-fraud pipeline.
- Trump has been eager to jump-start talks with North Korea, but Pyongyang has shown little interest in diplomacy aimed at containing its nuclear program, and he earlier this month downplayed the idea of another high-profile meeting with Kim in China next month.
- Trump has repeatedly referred to North Korea as a "nuclear power," even though his administration continues to call for denuclearization and has not formally recognized it as a nuclear-weapons state; his 2018 and 2019 summits with Kim broke down over U.S. demands that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons.
- North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the sanctions.
Why it matters: Six of the sanctioned individuals are tied to First Financial and Technical Development Center, making this a defined chokepoint in the wage pipeline Treasury says funds Pyongyang's ballistic missile programs. Australia and the EU also sanctioned North Korea this month, so the pressure is multilateral even as Trump presses for talks Pyongyang has shown little interest in joining.
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