The United States has imposed sanctions on eight North Korean individuals and two entities, accusing them of laundering funds from cybercrime and fraud and channeling them into the North’s nuclear weapons program.

Newsweek contacted the North Korean embassy in China seeking comment.

Why It Matters

Despite U.N. sanctions, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for acceleration of the development of his country’s nuclear weapons.

Isolated North Korea has long been accused by the U.S. and various law enforcement organizations of financing its weapons programs through state-backed cybercrime, including cryptocurrency fraud. North Korea says it needs its weapons to defend itself from the United States and its Asian allies, which North Korea says are intent on regime change.

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