North Korea on Thursday condemned the Trump administration’s latest sanctions targeting individuals and firms accused of financing its nuclear weapons program through cybercrime, calling the move proof of Washington’s “wicked hostility” toward Pyongyang.
The rebuke came from Vice Foreign Minister Kim Un Chol, who warned that North Korea would take unspecified “proper measures” in response. His statement followed Tuesday’s announcement by the U.S. Treasury Department, which imposed sanctions on eight individuals and two companies — including North Korean bankers — for allegedly laundering money obtained through cybercrime schemes.
According to the Treasury, North Korean state-sponsored hacking operations have stolen more than $3 billion in mostly digital assets over the past three years, using networks of shell companies and financial intermediaries in countries including China and Russia to funnel the funds into its weapons program.
“Now that the present U.S. administration has clarified its stand to be hostile towards the DPRK to the last, we will also take proper measures to counter it with patience for any length of time,” Kim said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
He added that sanctions and pressure would not alter Pyongyang’s strategic direction or its stance toward the United States.
The sanctions come even as U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed interest in reviving talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Their previous negotiations collapsed in 2019 over disagreements about easing U.S.-led sanctions in exchange for nuclear disarmament steps.
Since then, Kim Jong Un has distanced himself from Washington and Seoul, turning instead toward Moscow. North Korea has deepened its alignment with Russia, reportedly sending troops and military supplies to support President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, while positioning itself as part of a broader anti-Western alliance.
In a recent speech, Kim rejected U.S. demands that North Korea abandon its nuclear arsenal as a precondition for renewed diplomacy. He also ignored Trump’s proposal to meet during the American president’s recent visit to South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
