October 22, 2025 – Ottawa, Ontario- Global Affairs Canada

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom on the occasion of the release of the latest MSMT report.

“We, the participating states of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), have released a report today on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) violations and evasions of United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) through cyber operations and information technology (IT) worker activities. The MSMT is a multilateral mechanism established in October 2024 to monitor and report on the implementation of UN sanctions measures relating to the DPRK. The report is available on the official MSMT website (https://msmt.info).

“This report, the second report published by the MSMT following the May 2025 report on unlawful military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, details the deep connections between UN-designated DPRK entities and the DPRK’s malicious cyber activities, including cryptocurrency theft, fraudulent IT work, and cyber espionage. The report consolidates information provided by MSMT participating states and the private sector related to the DPRK’s sanctions violation and evasion activity, and illustrates the DPRK’s ongoing exploitation of foreign governments, private businesses, and the public to steal and fraudulently obtain billions of dollars for its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. UN-designated DPRK entities, including the Reconnaissance General Bureau, carry out many of these activities to evade the asset freeze imposed in UNSCR 1718.

“The MSMT is sharing this information to provide the international community with critical information to protect their governments, private businesses, and citizens from DPRK cyber actors and IT worker schemes. We encourage all UN member states to raise awareness about the DPRK’s malicious cyber activities and hold responsible parties accountable for UNSCR violations, including through sanctions.

“This report addresses the monitoring gap created by the disbandment of the UN Security Council’s 1718 Committee Panel of Experts in April 2024, caused by Russia’s veto in March 2024. The report will assist with the full implementation of UN resolutions by the international community. Considering the continued violations and evasions of relevant UNSCRs, we urge the Security Council to reestablish the Panel of Experts in the same strength and structure it had prior to its disbandment.

“With the release of this second MSMT report, we underscore once again our shared determination to fully implement relevant UNSCRs. We urge the DPRK to engage in meaningful diplomacy, and we call on all UN Member States to join global efforts to maintain international peace and security in the face of ongoing threats from the DPRK and those who facilitate its illicit activities in violation of relevant UNSCRs.

“We will continue our efforts to monitor the implementation of UNSCRs relating to the DPRK and expose ongoing attempts to violate and evade UN sanctions.”