February 7, 2022
According to an excerpt of a confidential United Nations report, North Korea continued to develop its nuclear and ballistic missile programs during the past year.
Here’s what we know:
- According to the annual report by independent sanctions monitors, the maintenance and development of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic infrastructure were never put on hold, according to a Reuters report.
- The report claimed cyberattacks on cryptocurrency exchanges were an important revenue source for North Korea and that the country “continued to seek material, technology, and know-how for these programs overseas, including through cyber means and joint scientific research.”
- “Although no nuclear tests or launches of ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) were reported, DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) continued to develop its capability for the production of nuclear fissile materials,” the panel wrote.
- The report mentioned demonstrations of new short-range and possibly medium-range missiles through January “incorporating both ballistic and guidance technologies and using both solid and liquid propellants.”
- The UN Security Council has long banned Pyongyang from conducting nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches. Since 2006, after its first nuclear test explosion, the country has been subject to UN sanctions.
- In 2019, the UN sanctions monitors reported that North Korea had generated an estimated $2 billion for its weapons of mass destruction programs using widespread and increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.
- North Korea remains able to evade sanctions and illicitly import refined petroleum, access international banking channels, and carry out “malicious cyber activities,” the panel had previously warned.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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Sharan Kaur Phillora’s thirst for knowledge has led her to study many different subjects, including NFTs and Blockchain technology – two emerging technologies that will change how we interact with each other in the future. When she isn’t exploring a new idea or concept, she enjoys reading literary masterpieces.
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