North Korea to hold a crypto and blockchain conference in October

North Korea is reportedly planning to host the country’s first blockchain and cryptocurrency conference.

The US-sanction-hit country is intending to attract thousands of experts from around the world to its two-day conference in the capital Pyongyang.

There is no information yet regarding which experts, if any, have been invited to participate as speakers or panel members.

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The event is programmed to conclude with a meet-and-greet event with North Korean business leaders, according to sources who spoke with Radio Free Asia. They say the government led by Kim Jong-un is hosting the conference with the intention of demonstrating the technological capabilities of the Asian country.

Various news sources also suggested that the North Korean government is seeking ways to circumvent the sanctions imposed on the country and a way to finance Kim’s regime.

Mining and hacking

Recently, the South Korean state-run Korea Development Bank reported there was evidence that their northern neighbour’s government had launched a small-scale mining operation, but according to the Yonhap News Agency the initiative failed for reasons unknown.

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According to various sources, including South Korean parliamentary intelligence committee member Kim Byung-kee and cybersecurity firm FireEye, have said that hackers backed by the North Korean government are actively stealing cryptocurrency.

“North Korea sent emails that could hack into cryptocurrency exchanges and their customers’ private information and stole cryptocurrency worth billions of won,” Byung-kee said.