North Korea has generated an estimated $US2 billion for its weapons of mass destruction programs using "widespread and increasingly sophisticated" cyber attacks to steal from banks and cryptocurrency exchanges, according to a confidential UN report.
Pyongyang also "continued to enhance its nuclear and missile programs although it did not conduct a nuclear test or ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) launch," said the report seen by Reuters on Monday.
The experts said North Korea "used cyberspace to launch increasingly sophisticated attacks to steal funds from financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges to generate income".
They also used cyberspace to launder the stolen money, the report said.
The UN experts said North Korea's attacks against cryptocurrency exchanges allowed it "to generate income in ways that are harder to trace and subject to less government oversight and regulation than the traditional banking sector".
The Security Council has unanimously imposed sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke off funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The council has banned exports including coal, iron, lead, textiles and seafood, and capped imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products.
US President Donald Trump has met with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un three times, most recently in June when he became the first sitting US president to set foot in North Korea at the Demilitarised Zone between the two Koreas.
They agreed to resume stalled talks aimed at getting Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program. The talks have yet to resume and in July and early August, North Korea carried out three short-range missiles tests in eight days.