A group of hackers linked to North Korea have reportedly stolen $721 million worth of cryptocurrency assets from Japan. The hackers have allegedly been stealing the assets since 2017.
In a report by Nikkei business daily on Monday, a study by the United Kingdom-based blockchain analysis provider Elliptic found that North Korean hackers have stolen $721 million worth of assets in cryptocurrency from Japan since 2017. The amount is said to be equal to 30 percent of the total losses globally. The report also follows the recent meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs of the G7 countries, where they released a joint statement expressing support for measures that could counter growing threats posed by state actors, including the theft of cryptocurrency assets.
According to the study by Elliptic, North Korea stole an overall $2.3 billion in cryptocurrency from businesses between 2017 and 2022.
Last week, the North Korean foreign ministry warned Japan against joining the nuclear consulting group led by the United States and also included South Korea, citing that by taking part in the group, northeast Asia would become unstable. The Nuclear Consultative Group was announced during a state visit by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to the US last month, which Seoul would have more insight into nuclear planning in the event of a potential military conflict with North Korea.
“If Japan persistently resorts to forming the US-led tripartite military alliance, it will plunge northeast Asia into instability and finally turn it into a sea of flames, where it will perish,” said Kim Sol-hwa of the North Korean foreign ministry’s institute for Japan studies in an editorial, aiming at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida who visited South Korea over the weekend in what would be the first bilateral trip in 12 years.
The nuclear consultative group was also part of the so-called “Washington Declaration” made during Yoon’s visit to the US, in which the South Korean leader said the agreement has “upgraded” the alliance between South Korea and the US and that Japan is not ruled out from joining the NCG.
The agreement also included a renewed pledge from South Korea not to pursue nuclear weapons of its own.
Photo by Andre Francois Mackenzie/Unsplash(CC by 2.0)


Trump Taps Former DHS Official Troy Edgar for U.S. Ambassador Role in El Salvador
Dan Bongino to Step Down as FBI Deputy Director After Brief, Controversial Tenure
Republicans Raise National Security Concerns Over Intel’s Testing of China-Linked Chipmaking Tools
U.S.-Russia Talks in Miami Raise Hopes for Potential Ukraine War Deal
Pakistan’s Army Chief Faces Gaza Troop Dilemma Amid US Pressure
Trump’s Rob Reiner Remarks Spark Bipartisan Outrage After Tragic Deaths
UN Warns Gaza Humanitarian Aid at Risk as Israel Registration Rules Threaten NGO Operations
Lukashenko Urges Swift Ukraine Peace Deal, Backs Trump’s Push for Rapid Resolution
Trump Administration Moves to Keep TransAlta Coal Plant Running Amid Rising AI Power Demand
European Leaders Tie Ukraine Territorial Decisions to Strong Security Guarantees
Zelenskiy Urges Allies to Use Frozen Russian Assets as EU Summit Nears
Union-Aligned Investors Question Amazon, Walmart and Alphabet on Trump Immigration Policies
U.S. Initiates $11.1 Billion Arms Sale to Taiwan Amid Rising China Tensions
Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency
Federal Judge Declines to Immediately Halt Trump’s $300 Million White House Ballroom Project
Trump Weighs Reclassifying Marijuana as Schedule III, Potentially Transforming U.S. Cannabis Industry
European Leaders Launch International Claims Commission to Compensate Ukraine for War Damage 



