Pyongyang / Washington – North Korea has denounced the latest US sanctions targeting cybercrimes that allegedly fund its nuclear weapons program, calling Washington’s actions “wicked” and promising unspecified countermeasures.

The statement, issued Thursday by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Un Chol, followed sanctions by the US Treasury on eight individuals and two companies, including North Korean bankers accused of laundering money from state-sponsored cybercrime schemes.

The Treasury Department said North Korea stole more than $3 billion in mostly digital assets over three years, an amount unmatched by any other foreign actor, and used the funds to support its nuclear weapons program. It identified a network of banking representatives, shell companies, and financial institutions across North Korea, China, Russia, and elsewhere involved in the laundering of these illicit gains.

“Now that the present US administration has clarified its stand to be hostile towards the DPRK to the last, we will also take proper measures to counter it with patience for any length of time,” Kim Un Chol said.

Since his breakdown in talks with former US President Donald Trump in 2019, Kim Jong Un has shunned diplomacy with Washington and Seoul. He has increasingly aligned with Russia, sending troops and military equipment to support the war in Ukraine, while pushing for a stronger North Korean role in opposing the US-led West.

In recent remarks, Kim rejected US demands for denuclearization as a condition for renewed talks and ignored Trump’s recent invitation to meet during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.