CNN describes a South Korean and U.S.-supported operation that tracked cryptocurrency stolen from Harmony, a California cryptocurrency firm, and helped freeze a little over $1 million when North Korean hackers briefly moved part of the funds into a dollar-pegged account. The article says North Korean-linked hackers have stolen billions from banks and crypto firms, including a reported $1.7 billion in 2022, and increasingly use laundering tactics to convert digital assets into hard currency. U.S. and South Korean officials frame disruption of this crypto pipeline as a national-security priority because stolen funds and overseas IT-worker remittances can support DPRK weapons programs under sanctions.