TAIPEI, Taiwan — The United States has announced a $5 million bounty for information on two North Korean information technology companies, saying they orchestrated an elaborate scheme to get North Korean workers into American companies to extort money to fund weapons development.
According to the U.S. State Department, from 2017 to 2023, approximately 130 North Korean workers found IT jobs at unsuspecting U.S. companies and nonprofits and received “ill-gotten gains” from Pyongyang for its weapons of mass destruction programs. ” earned at least $88 million.
The U.S. State Department said it was seeking reports on China’s Yanbian Silverstar Network Technology Co. and Russia’s Volasys Silverstar, adding that they had contact with the workers.
It also disclosed the names of 14 people, including Jong Song Hwa, CEO of the two companies, Kim Ryu Song, president of Yanbian Silverstar, and Ri Kyong Sik, president of Volasys Silverstar.
“These IT companies exported North Korean IT workers, managers and support staff to Yanji City in Jilin Province, China, and Vladivostok, Russia, by deceiving other businesses in the United States and around the world into hiring them as freelance IT workers,” the department said. to generate income.
“These companies then launder their ill-gotten gains to benefit North Korea,” it added, referring to North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The 14 individuals and unnamed associates used stolen, borrowed and purchased identities of hundreds of Americans to hide their identities, the department said.
According to the department, they also applied for and registered Internet domain names and created websites under false pretenses to mislead U.S. employers into believing that the applicants were affiliated with reputable U.S. companies, thereby obtaining remote employment opportunities for IT employees at U.S. businesses and organizations.
In addition, they worked with U.S. individuals to purchase laptops (either purchased or received from U.S. employers) and then installed remote access software on the laptops to extort payment from their employers by threatening to disclose sensitive information online. .
The bounty is part of the Rewards for Justice program, which aims to “generate useful information that protects Americans and advances U.S. national security.”
“The program rewards information related to terrorism, foreign-related interference in U.S. elections, foreign malicious cyber activity against the United States, and the financial mechanisms of individuals involved in certain activities in support of the North Korean regime,” the program’s official website reads.
As of the time of publication, North Korea had not responded to the announcement.
In July, the U.S. State Department announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to Rim Jong Hyok, a North Korean cyber attacker who targeted U.S. critical infrastructure.
In May, it offered a reward of up to $5 million for information about three North Korean IT workers and their managers who were involved in a scheme that allowed the workers to obtain illegal remote employment using false identities belonging to U.S. citizens.
countries that support terrorism
The department also added North Korea to its list of state sponsors of terrorism, saying it has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism.
“The Secretary has determined that the government of North Korea has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism as a result of North Korea’s alleged conduct of assassinations on foreign soil,” the department said Thursday in the 2023 National Terrorism Report.
The national report lists state sponsors of terrorism, including Cuba, Iran and Syria. North Korea has been on the list since November 2017.
The designation would trigger sanctions, including a ban on arms exports, tighter export controls, restrictions on U.S. aid and visas, and other financial penalties.
North Korea was first classified as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1988 for its role in the 1987 Korean Airliner bombing, but the designation was revoked in 2008 after a legal review.
“In 2017, the Secretary determined that North Korea had repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism in the nine years since its designation was revoked,” the department said.
“The state has also failed to take action to address historical support for acts of international terrorism.”
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The department’s announcement came as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump highlighted his personal relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an interview. time Magazine.
“I know Kim Jong Un, I get along very well with Kim Jong Un… and when you think about it, I’m the only person he’s ever interacted with,” Trump said in an interview with the magazine that chose him as its 2024 Person of the Year.
During his first term as president, Trump spearheaded an unprecedented diplomatic push against North Korea in an attempt to force it to abandon its nuclear and missile programs.
He met with Kim Jong Un three times and became the first U.S. president to set foot on North Korean soil, but the effort failed to achieve any real progress toward denuclearization or any lasting improvement in relations between the two countries.
It is unclear whether Pyongyang will respond to any new diplomatic overtures from Washington, given its growing military ties with Moscow.
Last month, Kim Jong Un appeared to rule out improving ties with the United States, saying past talks had only confirmed America’s unwavering hostility.
Edited by RFA staff.
