
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


$1.5 billion disappears in minutes. But what follows reveals North Korea’s expanding reach — from elite hackers to soldiers on the battlefield.
The audacious attack was on the ByBit crypto exchange in February 2025. Investigators say North Korean hackers the Lazarus Group are responsible – the biggest heist in the history of crypto. With our hosts Jean Lee and Geoff White, we uncover how they pulled it off.
But as Pyongyang’s cyber army is striking targets all over the world, North Korean soldiers have also been fighting on more traditional battlegrounds – siding with Russia in its war on Ukraine. We meet the South Korean correspondent who secured a world-exclusive interview with a North Korean POW.
Does this all signify a turning point for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as his cyber operatives pull off increasingly daring heists and his military gain real-world combat experience fighting with the Russians against Ukraine? As Kim continues to ally with Vladimir Putin — a leader whose country possesses exactly the kind of nuclear expertise North Korea has long sought – is he more dangerous than ever?
Meanwhile North Korea says it has nothing to do with the cybercrimes the Lazarus Group is accused of, saying the United States is making these allegations to try and tarnish its image.
Our story is about more than money. It’s about where it goes, what it buys, and who’s fighting in the shadows.
By BBC World Service4.7
15901,590 ratings
$1.5 billion disappears in minutes. But what follows reveals North Korea’s expanding reach — from elite hackers to soldiers on the battlefield.
The audacious attack was on the ByBit crypto exchange in February 2025. Investigators say North Korean hackers the Lazarus Group are responsible – the biggest heist in the history of crypto. With our hosts Jean Lee and Geoff White, we uncover how they pulled it off.
But as Pyongyang’s cyber army is striking targets all over the world, North Korean soldiers have also been fighting on more traditional battlegrounds – siding with Russia in its war on Ukraine. We meet the South Korean correspondent who secured a world-exclusive interview with a North Korean POW.
Does this all signify a turning point for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as his cyber operatives pull off increasingly daring heists and his military gain real-world combat experience fighting with the Russians against Ukraine? As Kim continues to ally with Vladimir Putin — a leader whose country possesses exactly the kind of nuclear expertise North Korea has long sought – is he more dangerous than ever?
Meanwhile North Korea says it has nothing to do with the cybercrimes the Lazarus Group is accused of, saying the United States is making these allegations to try and tarnish its image.
Our story is about more than money. It’s about where it goes, what it buys, and who’s fighting in the shadows.

7,841 Listeners

526 Listeners

892 Listeners

1,075 Listeners

306 Listeners

5,492 Listeners

1,818 Listeners

2,119 Listeners

734 Listeners

234 Listeners

366 Listeners

233 Listeners

4,163 Listeners

332 Listeners

3,217 Listeners

1,042 Listeners

5,137 Listeners

1,044 Listeners

66 Listeners

826 Listeners

1,009 Listeners

560 Listeners

431 Listeners

624 Listeners

268 Listeners

1,035 Listeners

371 Listeners

578 Listeners

462 Listeners

263 Listeners

181 Listeners

57 Listeners

77 Listeners

1,256 Listeners