The story broke on July 23 via Daily NK, the Seoul-based outlet that runs a network of sources inside North Korea. After leaving the service, they recruited young prodigies from Kim Chaek University of Technology and Pyongyang University of Science, then built a private crypto network to enrich themselves. The playbook mirrored the one North Korea has long used on everyone else. Cointelegraph and other outlets have not been able to independently verify the report, and information leaving North Korea is nearly impossible to confirm. It is easy to imagine that, given their daily involvement in illegal financial transactions, North Korean agents might succumb to temptation sooner or later.