Japan to request G7 action against North Korea crypto theft

Shigeru Ishiba, the prime minister of Japan, will urge the G7 to confront North Korea’s crypto theft activities. The request comes amid concerns about illicit funds supporting weapons development programs.

North Korea allegedly uses stolen virtual assets to finance weapons of mass destruction development. The summit will explore international cooperation to eliminate these financial channels.

Japan pushes G7 cooperation against North Korea crypto funding

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will denounce North Korea’s cybercrime cryptocurrency theft operations during the G7 summit in Canada this month, a Kyodo news report says. The three-day summit starting Sunday will discuss global cooperation to counter illicit virtual asset activities that are reportedly financing weapons development programs.

Japanese government reports indicate that Ishiba’s proposal is in response to increasing fears over North Korea employing hacked cryptocurrency to fund weapons of mass destruction research. The call for enhanced global cooperation is intended to sever economic lifelines funding Pyongyang’s military programs.

Japan’s move comes at the same time North Korea is heightening its military cooperation with Russia amid the war in Ukraine. Japan wishes to observe increased collaboration with Ukrainian allies in Europe and define security issues raised by North Korean behavior in the region.

The G7 partnership framework would be directed towards the tracking and prevention of North Korean actors’ cryptocurrency theft activities. Current global efforts are not yet sufficiently harmonized to address sophisticated cyber activities against virtual asset exchanges and platforms.

Japan’s proposal builds on existing concerns among G7 members about cryptocurrency security and the need for coordinated responses to state-sponsored cyber theft. The summit discussions will discuss mechanisms for information sharing and joint enforcement actions against illicit cryptocurrency activities.

G7 plans task force for cross-border e-commerce tax reform

As merchants flood member nation marketplaces with low-cost items, the G7 countries want to form a task group to evaluate tax exemptions on cross-border e-commerce involving tiny deliveries. Canada, serving as this year’s rotating president, has approached Japan about participating in the initiative addressing customs processing strain.

The task force responds to growing concerns about parcel volume containing low-value goods that burden customs operations. G7 members also seek protection for domestic businesses subject to sales and consumption taxes while overseas retailers, particularly Chinese companies, remain exempt from these obligations.

Japan does not collect import and consumption taxes on imported goods worth 10,000 yen ($69) or less under the “de minimis” rule, except for rice, sugar, and a few other items. During 2024, around 170 million boxes under the threshold were imported and accounted for around 90% of cleared customs imports.

Chinese e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu have leveraged these tax breaks to expand their operations in Japan and other big markets. The United States eliminated its small parcel exemption on Chinese goods in May as illegal drug imports, and in particular fentanyl, were cited as the reason.

North Korean cryptocurrency empire of thievery

North Korean state actors have hacked more than $6 billion in cryptocurrency since 2017. Especially 2024 was a record year of $1.34 billion stolen in 47 attacks. That’s 61% of all cryptocurrency stolen globally and means North Korea is a cybercrime leader on digital assets. The attacks support the regime’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs and avoid international sanctions.

North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau Lazarus Group have developed from basic malware attacks to sophisticated multi-stage financial attacks. They target the complete cryptocurrency ecosystem from the big exchanges all the way down to the individual wallets with sophisticated social engineering, customized malware, and sophisticated money laundering techniques.

Coincheck remains the foundational victory for North Korean hackers, with $534 million stolen in January 2018 through a phishing attack that compromised employee credentials. Recent exchange attacks show escalating ambition.

The February 2025 Bybit hack is the largest crypto heist ever at $1.5 billion, with the FBI confirming Lazarus Group attribution in a matter of days. Japan’s DMM Bitcoin lost $308 million in May 2024 through clever social engineering against employees through imposter LinkedIn recruiters. This eventually led to the exchange shutting down.

KuCoin’s 2020 hack demonstrated contemporary laundering methods, with $275 million being stolen and then laundered on DeFi platform. Some other large exchange victims are Atomic Wallet ($100 million, June 2023), Stake.com ($41 million, September 2023), and CoinsPaid ($37 million, July 2023).

All the attacks employed different tactics of social engineering, ranging from spoofed job placements to vulnerable third-party services. The Ronin Network hack is North Korea’s most brazen attack, which stole $625 million from Axie Infinity’s sidechain bridge in March 2022.

KEY Difference Wire helps crypto brands break through and dominate headlines fast