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On August 27, 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated four people and entities it said supported a North Korean IT-worker network: Russian national Vitaliy Sergeyevich Andreyev, North Korean official Kim Ung Sun, China-based Shenyang Geumpungri Network Technology Co., Ltd., and Korea Sinjin Trading Corporation. Treasury said the network generated revenue for North Korean entities and involved financial transfers and an overseas worker delegation.
Who OFAC designated
Treasury described the four designated parties as having distinct roles in a network associated with Chinyong Information Technology Cooperation Company, which Treasury linked to North Korea’s defense ministry.
| Designated party | Treasury’s description of the role |
|---|---|
| Vitaliy Sergeyevich Andreyev | A Russian national who Treasury said facilitated payments to Chinyong. |
| Kim Ung Sun | A Russia-based North Korean economic and trade consular official who Treasury said worked with Andreyev to facilitate transfers. |
| Shenyang Geumpungri Network Technology Co., Ltd. | A Chinese front company for Chinyong that Treasury said consisted of a delegation of North Korean IT workers. |
| Korea Sinjin Trading Corporation | A North Korean trading company that Treasury said was subordinate to the General Political Bureau of the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces and received government directives about workers Chinyong deployed internationally. |
Treasury said Chinyong employed delegations of IT workers in Russia and Laos. It characterized Shenyang Geumpungri as a front for Chinyong and said its delegation had generated more than $1 million in profits for Chinyong and Sinjin since 2021. These are Treasury’s stated figures and characterizations, not independently audited totals. Treasury’s August 27, 2025 announcement sets out the designations and its account of the network.
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What Treasury said the financial activity involved
Treasury said that, since at least December 2024, Andreyev and Kim worked together to facilitate multiple transfers worth nearly $600,000. According to Treasury, the process involved converting cryptocurrency into U.S. dollar cash and directing payments to Chinyong. The nearly $600,000 figure is Treasury’s account of the transfers, not a separately verified or audited total.
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Treasury said Andreyev facilitated payments to Chinyong, which it associated with North Korea’s defense ministry. Its designation notice characterized the conduct as support for the company; the announcement does not establish that the allegations were adjudicated in a court.
Why OFAC designated them
Treasury said it designated the parties under Executive Order 13687 on different grounds. It said Andreyev materially assisted or supported Chinyong; Kim acted or purported to act for the North Korean government; Shenyang Geumpungri was owned or controlled by, or acted for, Chinyong; and Sinjin was owned or controlled by, or acted for, the North Korean government.
These are administrative sanctions designations and Treasury’s stated basis for them. The cited government materials describe the agency’s allegations and assessment; they do not amount to an independent adjudication of each allegation.
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Treasury’s notice says property and interests in property belonging to designated persons are blocked when they are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, and must be reported to OFAC. It also says entities owned 50 percent or more, directly or indirectly and individually or in the aggregate, by blocked persons are themselves blocked.
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Transactions by U.S. persons, or transactions within or transiting the United States, that involve blocked persons’ property are generally prohibited unless authorized or exempt. The notice’s summary is not advice about a particular payment, counterparty, or transaction. Anyone assessing a specific case should consult current OFAC records and applicable guidance.
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Treasury said North Korean IT workers may use fraudulent documents, stolen identities, and false personas to conceal who they are and obtain work at legitimate companies. It also warned that some workers have introduced malware to steal proprietary or sensitive information, and directed readers to FBI network-protection guidance.
In its 2026 National Proliferation Financing Risk Assessment, Treasury later revisited the August 2025 action as part of its overview of North Korean IT-worker revenue-generation methods. It repeated the transfer and profit figures while placing the case alongside other schemes. That later report adds Treasury’s broader context; it is not independent fact-finding on the individual allegations in the designation notice.
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