The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit to seize 280 cryptocurrency accounts linked to North Korean hackers. 

The department said on Thursday that it filed the forfeiture complaint that day with a federal court in Washington, detailing two hacks of virtual currency exchanges by North Korean actors. 

The department claimed in the complaint that North Korean hackers stole millions of dollars from virtual currency accounts and then laundered the stolen funds through Chinese over-the-counter cryptocurrency traders. 

A department official said in a statement that the latest action publicly exposes the ongoing connections between North Korea's cyber-hacking program and a Chinese cryptocurrency money laundering network. 

In a separate statement, Assistant Attorney General John Demers said although North Korea is unlikely to stop trying to pillage the international financial sector to fund a failed economic and political regime, the U.S.' latest actions send a powerful message to the private sector and foreign governments regarding the benefits of working with the U.S. to counter the North Korean threat.

[Photo : YONHAP News]