US Warns Over Risk of Hiring North Korea IT Workers

The US has warned that

North Korean IT professionals

are attempting to obtain remote working employment by concealing their genuine identities in order to steal money for Pyongyang. According to three

US government agencies,

many of them pretend to be from other parts of Asia. They are accused of assisting North Korea in funding its nuclear programs in contravention of UN sanctions. In recent months, the government has undertaken many missile tests. North Korea conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile test since 2017 in March.

In a joint statement on Monday, the

US State Department, US Treasury Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation

said, "The DPRK [North Korea] dispatches thousands of highly skilled IT workers around the world to generate revenue that contributes to its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes, in violation of US and UN sanctions," 

The laborers are reported to be in North Korea and other countries, particularly China and Russia, according to the statement.

Africa and Southeast Asia

are reported to have a smaller population. "These IT workers take advantage of existing demands for specific IT skills, such as software and mobile application development, to obtain freelance employment contracts from clients around the world, including in North America, Europe, and East Asia," it said.