Observers warn North Korea's crypto theft, including the $6 billion Binance hack, is funding its weapons programmes

Summary

North Korea is rapidly advancing its drone warfare capabilities by drawing lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war, while South Korea's efforts to keep pace remain bogged down by procurement delays and bureaucratic red tape, observers warn. The same report says cryptocurrency theft has become a crucial source of funding for Pyongyang's weapons programmes, following US Federal Bureau of Investigation allegations that North Korean state-backed hackers stole more than US$6 billion from Binance.

Timeline

1. South China Morning Post

   3 Nov 2026, 00:00 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that observers warn North Korea is rapidly advancing drone warfare while South Korea's procurement lags, and that FBI allegations of more than US$6 billion stolen from Binance by North Korean state-backed hackers are a crucial source of funding for Pyongyang's weapons programmes.