A report by a United Nation panel of experts monitoring sanctions has revealed that North Korea stole more than $300 million worth of virtual assets between 2019 and 2020, adding that the loot was used to fund the nation’s weapons programs in 2019.

The report, handed over to the sanctions committee on February 4 and sent to Security Council members on Monday, said that North Korea’s “total theft of virtual assets from 2019 to November 2020 is valued at approximately $316.4 million.”

The report said it had found that North Korean-linked cyber actors continued to conduct operations in 2020 against financial institutions and virtual currency exchange houses to generate money to support its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.

An excerpt from the report noted that “there was a marked acceleration of the testing and demonstration of new short- and possibly medium-range missiles incorporating both ballistic and guidance technologies and using both solid and liquid propellants, which continues as of the end of January 2022.” 

North Korea has since long been banned by the UN Security Council from carrying out nuclear tests and launching ballistic missiles.However, the UN report adds that despite crippling sanctions, North Korea has continued developing its nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure.

The United Nations had in 2019 reported that North Korea had amassed an estimated $2 billion for its arms programmes through cyber-attacks.

It also reported on Iran’s involvement with Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation, North Korea’s primary arms dealer and main exporter of goods and equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons that are under United Nations sanctions.