The US Treasury Department said Thursday it sanctioned six individuals and two entities for their roles in North Korea-orchestrated information technology (IT) worker schemes, which it accused of defrauding American businesses and generating revenue to fund Pyongyang's weapons programs.
The department's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the measure, noting that the latest sanctions are part of the United States' "whole-of-government" effort to counter Pyongyang's wide-ranging revenue generation schemes.
"The North Korean regime targets American companies through deceptive schemes carried out by its overseas IT operatives, who weaponize sensitive data and extort businesses for substantial payments," Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent was quoted as saying.
"Under President Trump's leadership, Treasury will continue to follow the money in order to protect US businesses from these malicious activities and ensure those responsible are held accountable," he added.
Added to the OFAC sanctions list are Yun Song-guk, a North Korean citizen; York Louis Celestino Herrera of the Dominican Republic; and four Vietnamese nationals -- Nguyen Quang Viet, Do Phi Khanh, Hoang Van Nguyen and Hoang Minh Quang.
The two entities added to the list are Amnokgang Technology Development Company, a North Korean firm, and Quangvietdnbg International Services Company, a firm based in Vietnam.
The department said that Amnokgang is a North Korean IT company managing delegations of overseas IT workers and conducting other illicit activities to obtain and sell military and commercial technology through overseas networks.
Nguyen Quang Viet, the CEO of Quangvietdnbg, facilitates currency conversion services for North Koreans through his company, it said, noting that he converted about $2.5 million into cryptocurrency for North Koreans, including illicit earnings from IT workers associated with Amnokgang.
Do is an associate of sanctioned North Korean nuclear procurement facilitator Kim Se-un, who acts as Kim's proxy and likely allows Kim to use his identity to open bank accounts and launder proceeds from North Korean IT workers, according to the department.
Hoang Van Nguyen also assists Kim in opening bank accounts, as well as enabling cryptocurrency transactions for Kim, it said, pointing out that Hoang facilitated a counterfeit cigarette deal exceeding $200,000 on Kim's behalf in 2022.
As for Yun, the department said that since at least 2023, he led a group of North Korean IT workers that conduct freelance IT work operating out of Boten, Laos. Yun coordinated several dozen financial transactions totaling more than $70,000 with Hoang Minh Quang relating to IT services performed by Yun.
Since at least 2024, Yun also worked with Celestino to develop freelance IT service contracts for Yun.
The department said that North Korea-facilitated IT teams rely on fraudulent documentation, stolen identities and fabricated personas to conceal their true identities and gain employment with legitimate companies, including those in the US and allied countries.
"The DPRK government reportedly appropriates the majority of the wages earned by these overseas IT workers, generating hundreds of millions of dollars to support the regime's WMD and ballistic missile programs in violation of US and UN sanctions," it said.
DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, while WMD is short for weapons of mass destruction.
"In certain instances, DPRK-affiliated workers have also covertly introduced malware into company networks to extract proprietary and sensitive information," it added. (Yonhap)
