South Korea's Institute for National Security Strategy report found that North Korea was able to earn more than $6 billion by engaging in hacking and other "illicit" activities during the past seven years, Yonhap reported.
According to the report, one of Pyongyang's most lucrative backdoor activities during the 2017-2023 period was smuggling coal, despite the country being under United Nations sanctions that expressly forbid it from exporting coal abroad. It was estimated North Korea earned $2.15 billion from illegal coal exports, a further $1.75 billion from Chinese and Russian workers, and $1.35 billion from hacking.
Recently, the North also generated an income of $540 million from arms exports to Russia, amid growing military and economic ties with Moscow.
