MULTILATERAL SANCTIONS MONITORING TEAM (MSMT) SECOND REPORT LAUNCH EVENT
Statement by H.E Mr. James Larsen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations
12 January 2026
Australia commends the meticulous analysis and research presented in the MSMT’s second report – which shines a light on North Korea’s continued exploitation – through cyber espionage, cryptocurrency theft, and fraudulent IT workers – to fund its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
As the report outlines, North Korean cyber actors stole at least 1.9 billion dollars in cryptocurrency from companies around the world in 2024, and used a global network of North Korean nationals and foreign facilitators to launder stolen digital assets.
The scope and scale of this criminal enterprise calls for our collective attention and immediate action.
Australia has heeded that call.
On 6 November, the Australian Government acted on this report by imposing targeted sanctions on four entities and one individual involved in supporting the North Korea’s WMD programs through malicious cyber activity – entities responsible for major cyberattacks on hospitals, on Sony Pictures, the Bangladesh Bank heist, and the 2017 WannaCry attack, as well as entities engaging in cyber espionage against government officials and journalists.
Australia calls on all countries – including North Korea – to ensure their activities in cyberspace are consistent with international law and the norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.
As the report clearly and rigorously demonstrates, this is not a hypothetical threat – malicious cyber activity from DPRK can adversely affect every country and region – which is why we ask every state to be vigilant, and businesses to protect their operations from exploitation – so North Korean hackers and fraudulent IT workers cannot find safe havens and soft targets to perpetrate their crimes.
Moreover, the MSMT’s detailed reporting provides a compelling account of the connections between North Korea’s malign cyber activities and DPRK entities that are already subject to UN sanctions.
The DPRK relies on these cyber operations to illicitly finance their weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.
UN-sanctioned entities, including the Reconnaissance General Bureau, are carrying out the majority of these activities to circumvent the asset freeze imposed in Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1718.
We reiterate our calls for North Korea to abandon its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.
Australia looks forward to further reporting from the MSMT in the coming year – following Russia’s reckless decision to end the mandate of the UNSC’s Panel of Experts on North Korea, the MSMT remains a vital mechanism to expose the DPRK’s violations and evasions of UNSC resolutions.
Thank you.