As Daily NK writes, North Korean trading companies operating in China, contrary to UN sanctions, have been importing desktop and laptop computers and their components since the beginning of January. This includes: o processors, motherboards, RAM, graphics cards and memory cards.
—High-performance computers and cutting-edge GPUs are generally ordered by powerful agencies that oversee hacking teams or military research and development operations, an anonymous source told Daily NK.
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This is how Kim Jong Un arms his hackers
North Korea has had a problem with importing highly specialized technologies for almost a decade. It's all because of the 2017 UN Security Council resolution. It was adopted unanimously on December 22, 2017, in response to the test of the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile, launched by Kim Jong Un's people on November 28, 2017.
The adopted document banned the import of industrial machinery and equipment, transport vehicles and their components, as well as iron, steel and other metals. The UN decision was intended to delay the development of North Korea's missile program. The country has officially had nuclear weapons since 2003, but only confirmed it with a field test three years later.
- Kim Jong Un's people go from house to house and take food. “Refusal would be risky.”
North Korea circumvents sanctions.
Hence, in order to import officially banned parts, it must use the “courtesy” of Chinese customs officials and border guards. Therefore, banned goods enter North Korea mainly through the Hunchun-Rason and Changbai-Hyesan border crossings.
— In Hunchun, customs duties are low and in practice sanctioned goods are allowed through. Electronics or aluminum cannot be introduced into North Korea by land other than through Hunchun, says an anonymous source to Daily NK.
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It is worth recalling that Kim Jong Un has an elite hacking unit at his disposal – the Lazarius group. As Ju cryptocurrency website writes, in 2025 alone, Kim Jong Un's “internet thugs” stole the equivalent of $2 billion for the regime. This includes: these funds co-finance North Korea's nuclear program.
