Washington claims N. Korea put workers in US firms to extort money for weapons

The United States on Dec 12 offered a US$5 million (S$6.7 million) reward for information about an alleged scheme in which North Korean technology workers got jobs at unsuspecting US companies and then stole their trade secrets for ransom, with the proceeds used to fund Pyongyang's weapons programmes.

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The US State Department said about 130 North Korean workers got IT jobs at US companies and non-profits from 2017 to 2023, and generated at least US$88 million that Pyongyang used for weapons of mass destruction.

The North Korea mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US State Department said in a statement that it sought information on two sanctioned North Korean companies - China-based Yanbian Silverstar Network Technology and Russia-based Volasys Silverstar - that it said handled the workers.