Pyongyang
North Korea-obsessed Ethereum dev gets 5 years for breaking sanctions
Virgil Griffith, a former Ethereum (ETH) developer has been sentenced to 63 months in prison and will pay a fine of $100,000 for attending a conference and assisting North Korea use blockchain technology in contravention of economic sanctions imposed by the United States. On Tuesday, April 12, U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel of the Southern District of New York handed down the decision. Judge Castel stated that “what you see here is intentionality, a deliberate, willful intent to violate the sanctions’ regime,” adding that the crime was made worse because Griffith had a “desire to educate people on how to evade sanctions.” In September 2021, Griffith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law banning U.S. citizens from exporting an...
U.S. says North Korea an urgent priority for the United States
North Korea’s nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs are an urgent priority for the United States and Washington remains committed to denuclearization of the country, the U.S. State Department said on Friday. The Biden administration’s lack of direct engagement with North Korea should not be seen as an indication that the challenge posed by its weapons programs was not a priority, department spokesman Ned Price said. “It in fact very much is,” he told a regular briefing. North Korea continued to make progress in its nuclear and missile programs in recent years “which makes this an urgent priority for the United States and one that we are committed to addressing together with our allies and partners,” Price said. “And … the central premise is that we remain committed to denuclearizat...
KCNA: DPRK military says ready to go into action
The military of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Tuesday it is getting itself fully ready for providing a sure military guarantee to any external measures to be taken by the Party and government. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted a statement released by the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) as saying that the army was keeping close watch “on the current situation in which the north-south relations are turning worse and worse,” and it would “rapidly and thoroughly implement any decisions and orders of the Party and government.” The statement said the army had accepted a government’s opinion “on studying an action plan for taking measures to make the army advance again into the zones that had been demilitarized” under the north-south agreement in...
Kim Jong Un: North Korea facing its ‘worst-ever situation’
Kim Jong Un says North Korea is facing its “worst-ever situation” and called on “grassroots” members of the ruling Workers’ Party to be more proactive and responsible in carrying out the country’s new five-year economic plan. The comments, reported by state media on Wednesday, came as experts warn Kim is facing perhaps his toughest moment as he approaches a decade in rule, with North Korea’s coronavirus lockdown unleashing further shock on its sanctions-battered economy. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim made the comments during an opening speech at a meeting of the Workers’ Party’s cell secretaries on Tuesday. “Improving the people’s living standards … even in the worst-ever situation in which we have to overcome unprecedentedly numerous challenges depends on the ...