UN experts: Don't participate in cryptocurrency conference hosted by North Korea

According to a Reuters report yesterday, a confidential report to be submitted to the UN Security Council later this month showed that UN sanctions experts warned people not to attend a cryptocurrency conference in North Korea this February, saying it could be Violation of sanctions.

Before the document came to light, independent UN experts told the Security Council last August that North Korea had stolen roughly $ 2 billion in mass killings from banks and cryptocurrency exchanges using "broad and increasingly sophisticated" cyber attacks. Weapon project funding.

Since 2006, North Korea has been subject to United Nations sanctions for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The Security Council's 15 member states have unanimously stepped up these measures, which has led Pyongyang to look for other ways to make money.

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Last April, North Korea held its first blockchain and cryptocurrency conference, and one organizer told Reuters that more than 80 organizations participated in the conference. An American attending the meeting was charged with violations of U.S. sanctions.

According to its website, the next meeting will be held from February 22 to 29.

The United Nations sanctions expert's forthcoming annual report warned that the meeting "contained a clear discussion of using cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions and money laundering."

The report also made it clear that the country was asked to ban the provision of "financial transactions, technical training, advice, services, or assistance" if it believed that it might help North Korea's nuclear or ballistic missile projects or to escape United Nations sanctions.

The full report will be submitted to the UN Security Council North Korea Sanctions Committee later this month.

The North Korean delegation to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A British government spokesman and another UN Security Council diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said North Korea's internet projects were used to gather information, evade sanctions and generate revenue.

The British government spokesman said:

"Supporting North Korea's use of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology runs the risk of violating Security Council resolutions, as this will inevitably increase North Korea's ability to override sanctions and generate revenue for its weapons projects."

The United States formally accused digital currency expert Virgil Griffith last week for attending a North Korean cryptocurrency conference last year. Prosecutors have accused him of providing services to North Korea without US approval and evading US law.

Griffith, who holds a PhD from California Institute of Technology, was arrested in November last year, and prosecutors said he and other participants discussed how Pyongyang used cryptocurrency technology to launder money and evade sanctions.

The United Nations sanctions expert stated in the report:

"While the media were unable to attend the meeting and the minutes were not made public, the recent indictment of an American for sanctions violations gave people some insight into the purpose of the meeting."

U.S. prosecutors said Griffith has been encouraging other U.S. citizens to attend a meeting in North Korea next month.

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