A UN report said on Wednesday that North Korea continued cyber attacks against virtual currency exchange houses and financial institutions in violation of UN sanctions to fund its nuclear and missile programs.

According to the report by a panel of experts under the UN Security Council committee on North Korea sanctions, North Korea stole virtual assets worth more than 316-point-four million U.S. dollars, or 357 billion won, between 2019 and November 2020.

The report said that hackers linked to North Korea continued to conduct operations against financial institutions and virtual currency exchange houses in 2020 to generate revenue to support its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. 

It added that North Korea used unlisted virtual currency exchange houses in China to launder money that it stole into more stable virtual currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The panel also said some of the "malicious cyber activities" of the North were led by the Reconnaissance General Bureau, the North's military intelligence agency.

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