The United States targeted North Korea with fresh sanctions after its launch of a spy satellite last week, designating foreign-based agents it accused of facilitating sanctions evasion to gather revenue and technology for its weapons of mass destruction program.
The US Treasury Department in a statement said it also applied sanctions to cyber espionage group Kimsuky, accusing it of gathering intelligence to support North Korea’s strategic and nuclear ambitions.
Thursday’s action, taken in coordination with Australia, Japan and Korea, comes after North Korea last week successfully launched its first reconnaissance satellite, which it has said was designed to monitor US and South Korean military movements.
Thursday’s action freezes any US assets of those targeted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them. Those who engage in certain transactions with them also risk being hit with sanctions.
The Treasury said Kimsuky primarily uses spear-phishing to target people employed by the government, research centers, academic institutions and others, including in Europe, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
In October 2020, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) described the group as “likely tasked by the North Korean regime with a global intelligence gathering mission.”
