The annual report by independent sanctions monitors was submitted on Friday evening to the UN Security Council North Korea sanctions committee.
"Maintenance and development of DPRK's nuclear and ballistic missile infrastructure continued, and DPRK continued to seek material, technology and know-how for these programs overseas, including through cyber means and joint scientific research," the report said. The United States and others said on Friday that North Korea had carried out nine ballistic missile launches in January, adding it was the largest number in a single month in the history of the country's weapons of mass destruction and missile programs.
The monitors said"cyberattacks, particularly on cryptocurrency assets, remain an important revenue source" for North Korea and that they had received information that North Korean hackers continued to target financial institutions, cryptocurrency firms and exchanges. In 2019, the UN sanctions monitors reported that North Korea had generated an estimated US$2 billion for its weapons of mass destruction programs using widespread and increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.