Western allies warn North Korean IT workers funding nuclear arsenal

Pyongyang accused of using hard currency earned by AI-assisted workers to power armaments programme.Published On 31 Jul 202631 Jul 2026A coalition of Western allies has warned against employing IT workers from North Korea, asserting that they are funding the country’s nuclear arsenal.In a joint statement issued on Friday, 19 government agencies across nine countries cautioned that Pyongyang is relying on IT operatives deployed in North Korea and globally to obtain work under stolen identities to generate illicit revenue, which is then used to fund the country’s prohibited nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3China’s support for North Korea will ‘never change’: Top officiallist 2 of 3‘Sealed in blood’: Where does the China-North Korea alliance stand today?list 3 of 3US walks out on France at UN over North Korea, Russia comparisonend of listThe statement, which was signed by the United States, South Korea, Japan, and the United Kingdom among others, added that artificial intelligence is being implemented to expand Pyongyang’s network of fraudulent remote IT workers.It also warned that these workers represent an espionage threa...