G7 leaders call for coordinated action against North Korea’s cryptocurrency thefts
A June 17 joint statement from the summit in Évian-les-Bains renewed calls to counter North Korea’s crypto thefts and cybercrime, tying digital-asset abuse to sanctions evasion and broader security risks.
G7 leaders said in a June 17 joint statement at the summit in Évian-les-Bains that they need to jointly address cryptocurrency theft and cybercrime by North Korea, elevating the issue within a broader security agenda that also covered its nuclear and missile programs. The statement renewed concern that Pyongyang uses digital financial networks to evade sanctions and help fund military ambitions. The warning follows a series of alleged North Korea-linked crypto incidents in 2026, including the more than $250 million exploit at Solana-based Drift Protocol on April 1 and a more than $35 million hack at Humanity Protocol shortly before the G7 meeting. Elliptic linked the Drift attack to DPRK operators, while Quantstamp tied the Humanity Protocol incident to North Korea after saying a phishing email disguised as a Bithumb token lockup update led to malware being installed on an employee laptop.
- sanctions evasion: Efforts to bypass international restrictions on trade, finance, or other activity imposed on a country or entity.
- phishing email: A fraudulent message designed to trick someone into revealing information or installing malicious software.
- malware: Malicious software used to gain unauthorized access, disrupt systems, or steal data.