North Koreans Posed as US Tech Workers to Fund Weapons, US Says

  • Arizona woman accused of helping workers obtain illicit jobs
  • More than 300 US companies defrauded in effort, DOJ says

More than 300 US companies were defrauded in the effort.

Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Posing as Americans, North Korean technology workers secured remote work contracts with hundreds of US companies as part of a scheme to help fund Pyongyang’s illicit nuclear weapons and missile programs, the US government said on Thursday.

For three years, starting in October 2020, a US national named Christina Chapman of Arizona helped three North Korean IT workers obtain “illicit telework employment” using the identities of US citizens, earning about $6.8 million, the State Department said.