In a recent development, North Korean officials have vehemently criticized the U.
S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for what they term as "an absurd smear campaign.".
This reaction comes in the wake of the DOJ's revelation of multiple schemes allegedly orchestrated by the Democratic Peoples Republic of North Korea (DPRK) to finance its regime through remote IT work for U.S. companies.
According to Fox News, the DOJ earlier this week disclosed that North Korean actors were aided by individuals in the U.S., China, the United Emirates, and Taiwan to secure employment with over 100 U.S. companies, including some Fortune 500 companies. The alleged scheme involved the workers receiving laptops from the hiring companies, which were then remotely accessed by North Korean IT workers. In another plot, North Korean IT workers reportedly used false identities to gain employment with a blockchain research and development company in Atlanta, Georgia, leading to the theft of over $900,000 in virtual currency.
In connection with the North Korean scheme, the DOJ unsealed a five-count indictment against Zhenxing Wang, a U.S. national residing in New Jersey, who has since been apprehended. The DOJ alleges that Wang and his co-conspirators secured remote IT work with U.S. companies, generating over $5 million in revenue. The indictment also includes charges against Chinese nationals Jing Bin Huang, Baoyu Zhou, Tong Yuze, Yongzhe Xu, Ziyou Yuan, and Zhenbang Zhou, as well as Taiwanese nationals Mengting Liu and Enchia Liu. U.S. national Kejia "Tony" Wang, also from New Jersey, was separately indicted.
The North Korean news agency KCNA reported that a spokesperson for the DPRK Foreign Ministry lambasted the U.S. judicial system for its actions against DPRK citizens on the suspicion of a cybercrime. The spokesperson reportedly stated, "The recent incident is an absurd smear campaign and grave violation of sovereignty aimed at tarnishing the image of our state as it is a continuation of the hostile move of the successive U.S. administrations that have talked much about the non-existent cyber threat from the DPRK."
The spokesperson further accused the U.S. of creating "international cyberspace instability," and not the DPRK. "The U.S. has long been posing a constant threat to the cybersecurity of the DPRK and other sovereign states by making cyberspace a scene of battle and abusing the cyber issue as a political weapon to tarnish the image of other countries and impair the exercise of their legitimate rights," the spokesperson added.
The DOJ alleges that from 2021 and through most of 2024, the defendants and other co-conspirators compromised the identities of over 80 people in the U.S. to secure remote jobs at more than 100 companies. The victim companies reportedly incurred legal fees, computer network remediation costs, and other damages and losses amounting to at least $3 million.
Kejia and Zhenxing, along with at least four other U.S. facilitators, allegedly assisted overseas IT workers with various parts of the scheme. They are accused of establishing shell companies with websites and financial accounts to create the illusion that the overseas IT workers were affiliated with legitimate U.S. businesses. Once established, the two allegedly received money from U.S. companies, which was then transferred to co-conspirators overseas. For their services, Kejia, Zhenxing, and the other four conspirators in the U.S. reportedly received at least $696,000 from the IT workers.
The DOJ further revealed that one of the companies the schemers allegedly accessed data from was a defense contractor that develops artificial intelligence-powered equipment and technology. By accessing the companys data, the schemers were privy to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), the DOJ said.
The DOJ also announced that the FBI and Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) seized 17 web domains used as part of the scheme, along with 29 financial accounts holding tens of thousands of dollars, used to launder revenue for the North Korean regime.
The DOJ unveiled another part of the scheme, which resulted in a five-count wire fraud and money laundering indictment against four North Korean nationals: Kim Kwang Jin, Kang Tae Bok, Jong Pong Ju, and Change Nam II.
The suspects are accused of scheming to steal virtual currency from two companies, with a value of over $900,000 at the time of the thefts, and to launder the proceeds. All four nationals, the DOJ said, are at large and wanted by the FBI.
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