A file image of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is televised on a news program reporting North Korea's missile launch on a TV monitor at Seoul Station in Seoul, on April 13. AP-Yonhap

By Kim Jae-heun

Seoul has imposed independent sanctions on a North Korean national named Sim Hyon-sop for financing the North's nuclear and missile development programs through illegal cyber activities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

This is the first sanction simultaneously placed by both South Korea and the U.S. on a North Korean individual for illegal cyber activities. The move is the result of close cooperation between the two allies aiming to substantially hamper North Korea's illegal activities.

Sim is a staff member of the North's Korea Kwangson Banking Corporation (KKBC), which has been placed under sanctions by the United Nations Security Council. He has been accused of creating fake bank accounts and laundering money to raise funds for North Korea's nuclear weapons development program.

He is also suspected of laundering millions of dollars in illegal funds, including cryptocurrencies obtained by North Korean IT personnel, who concealed their identities while residing abroad illegally. Sim has been accused of secretly providing them with financial support.

This is the sixth independent sanction imposed against North Korea since the inauguration of President Yoon Suk Yeol in March 2022. A total of 36 individuals and 41 institutions have been placed under sanctions since last October.

South Korea and the U.S. have been busy trying to reduce the damage of North Korea's cyberattacks by freezing and confiscating cryptocurrencies allegedly gained through such activities. The U.S. and South Korea also blocked a number of bank accounts created by North Korean IT workers and collected a portion of their illegal funds with the help of private businesses.

The government said it will continue to strengthen cooperation with its allies and the private sector to prevent North Korea from launching cyberattacks and illegally obtaining valuable foreign currency.

Those placed under independent sanctions require prior permission from the governor of the Bank of Korea or the Financial Services Commission to conduct foreign exchange transactions.