Seoul, Washington team up to stop NK's cryptocurrency theft

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Thu, November 30, 2023 | 09:40

Foreign Affairs

Seoul, Washington team up to stop NK's cryptocurrency theft

Posted : 2023-02-01 19:00

Updated : 2023-02-02 09:00

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg speaks during a meeting with female journalists, hosted by the Korean Women Journalists Association, at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

By Lee Hae-rin

South Korea and the United States have worked closely to shut down North Korea's cryptocurrency networks as the North tried to finance its nuclear and missile programs by deviating from international sanctions, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg said Wednesday.

The envoy said the two sides made progress since they launched discussions last year following the Seoul-Washington summit held in May between U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. But he declined to give further details on the sensitive issue.

"Has there been progress? Yes. Can I discuss it here? No," he said during a meeting with the members of the Korean Women Journalists Association, in Seoul. "But there is some greater knowledge about how this is all used and generated by the DPRK." DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, better known as North Korea.

Goldberg said times were simpler because of traditional financial transactions and movements of goods when he was working to implement sanctions on North Korea as the former coordinator for the U.N. between 2009 and 2010 under the Obama administration.

However, in the wake of what he called a "new era," where cryptocurrency has emerged and become prevalent, it is important that South Korea and the U.S. cooperate to use their great capabilities in the cyber area.

"We will continue to be on alert to try to close down these networks. But I am not going to go into it in much detail because it's quite sensitive," he said.

The U.S. ambassador met female journalists to share his views about the South Korea-US alliance and other security issues affecting regional security during a forum hosted by association, Wednesday, a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held talks with his South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup.

On the subject of the North Korea-Russia arms trade, Goldberg reiterated Washington's statement on Moscow's violation of international agreements and resolutions on North Korea and on violations of human rights in Ukraine.

"The Wagner Group is an international criminal organization as we have already designated," he said. "If this is what the DPRK is committed to doing, then it only adds to what I said earlier about its continual violations of human rights with its own population. But it seems to export it as well," he said.

The U.S. envoy also said that South Korea and the United States are discussing and making progress in extended deterrence, which includes the U.S.' nuclear capabilities.

His remarks came a day after the U.S. defense secretary emphasized Washington's plan to strengthen extended deterrence against North Korea to protect South Korea and increase joint military drills during his meeting with the South's defense minister in Seoul, Tuesday.

The U.S. ambassador highlighted the expansion of the South Korea-U.S. alliance from military cooperation to several others fields, including business, cyberspace cooperation, climate change and outer space. He said the two governments have taken follow-up measures since last May when U.S. President Joe Biden visited South Korea for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol, 10 days after Yoon's inauguration as president.

"In the last nine months since our presidents gave us our marching orders, we launched the East Asia Semiconductor Supply Chain Work Group together with the ROK, Japan, and Taiwan," he said. "The 'Fab Four' is a multilateral dialogue aimed at limiting bottlenecks in semiconductor supply chains, investing in workforce development, and promoting more diverse supply chains for these critical components. The ROK also joined the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, an ambitious initiative to secure critical supply chains, promote a digital economy, address climate change, reduce corruption, and improve labor and environmental standards in economies throughout the region."

The two countries' cooperation in semiconductors and South Korea joining the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific initiative are two of the prime examples Goldberg mentioned during his opening speech.

Regarding concerns over the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) posing disadvantages to South Korean companies by scrapping subsidies on purchases of electric vehicles manufactured outside of North America, the ambassador explained the law was not meant to damage the South's businesses.

"We rely heavily on [South] Korea and our partnership especially with [South] Korean companies to carry out our objectives of a green economy and of meeting our carbon reduction goals for 2030, 2050. And that's done through the participation of [South] Korean companies in the production of EVs and batteries," he said.

lhr@koreatimes.co.kr