The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Thursday sanctioned North Korean trading company Sobaeksu and three IT workers as "part of a collaborative effort" with the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and State, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations to counter North Korea's "wide-ranging revenue generation schemes."
The U.S. Department of State also said the same day that the federal agencies are "executing coordinated, decisive actions to keep Americans safe from North Korea's malicious and illicit revenue-generation schemes."
It also pledged "rewards totaling up to $15 million for information leading to the arrests and/or convictions, in any country," of seven North Koreans including Sim Hyon-sop, who are accused of involvement in the schemes.
The fresh joint measures came after a series of similar actions targeting North Korea's illegal activities were taken earlier.
Assessing that North Korea "dispatches thousands of IT workers abroad to orchestrate fraudulent IT work, often from Russia and China," it said their criminal schemes ranging from cryptocurrency theft, illegal transfers of counterfeit goods, and smuggling "often target U.S. companies and U.S. citizens to raise funds for North Korea's dangerous and unlawful [weapons of mass destruction] and ballistic missile programs," in violation of UN sanctions.
"The United States will not stand idly by while North Korea profits from criminal activity to fund its destabilizing actions," it vowed, stressing Washington's "commitment to mitigating such threats posed by North Korea to protect U.S. companies, the U.S. financial system, and American citizens."
Under such sanctions, all their assets are frozen, and they are barred from doing business in the U.S.
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