Report says North Korea arrests state-trained hackers over crypto theft from its own banks

North Korean authorities have reportedly arrested a group of elite, state-trained hackers accused of stealing and laundering funds from the regime's own financial institutions through cryptocurrency. Daily NK, citing an anonymous source inside Pyongyang, said the group infiltrated the internal networks of Chosun Central Bank and Foreign Trade Bank and was rounded up on July 12 after an internal investigation traced suspicious crypto transactions to a safe house in Pyongyang. The report said the ring was led by former members of a cyber warfare unit under the Reconnaissance and Intelligence General Bureau and recruited talented graduates from Kim Chaek University of Technology and Pyongyang University of Science. It allegedly used military-grade hacking skills, encrypted communications, Chinese-made satellite communication devices and unregistered phones. Brokers in China were said to have converted the crypto into yuan and U.S. dollars, while intermediaries in the border cities of Sinuiju and Hyesan handled physical cash transfers. The allegation stands out because North Korea has long been accused by the United Nations, the United States, South Korea and Japan of sponsoring large-scale crypto theft to generate hard currency. Daily NK's source said the motive in this case was personal gain rather than ideology, making it an unusual instance of operatives allegedly trained for state cyber operations stealing from North Korea's own banks. TRM Labs data cited in the report said state-sponsored North Korean hackers accounted for 76% of all value stolen in crypto heists through April 2026, or roughly $577 million, while Chainalysis said North Korean hackers stole a record $2 billion in crypto during the past fiscal year.