TJWG says North Korean crypto hacker died after failed bid to defect to South Korea

A report released on Sept. 29 by South Korean human rights group Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) alleges that a North Korean hacker working in China to steal cryptocurrency tried and failed to defect to South Korea, was detained for an extended period through North Korean diplomatic facilities in China, and was eventually sent back to Pyongyang in a wheelchair with his body immobilized in plaster casts. TJWG said it decided to disclose his identity after confirming that he had died in North Korea. The report, titled North Korea’s Transnational Repression: China, identifies the man as Pae Yong-ju, born in Pyongyang in November 1988, citing passport records referenced by media including The Korea Herald. Korean media reports said he graduated from Madonghui Military University, was dispatched to China, and was involved in cryptocurrency theft, intrusions into South Korean government institutions, and intelligence gathering on Chinese military bodies. The publicly available reports did not state how much cryptocurrency he had stolen. TJWG also alleged that a basement inside the consular building of North Korea’s embassy in Beijing was used to detain suspected defectors. The group said its findings were based on interviews with more than 10 current and former North Korean officials, along with reporting from specialist North Korea-focused media.