Kim Jong-il grabs $6m from gold farming

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 8 August, 2011

South Korean MMOs hacked.

Kim Jong-il is in part funded by gold farmers, according to a new report.

The North Korean leader ordered a team of hackers, based in northern China, to break into the servers of South Korean massively multiplayer online games Lineage and Dungeon and Fighter to allow "factories" of dozens of unmanned computers to play non-stop.

Gathered virtual gold was then sold for real world cash on third party websites to gamers. The gold farmers were each required to send at least $500 a month back to the Pyongyang government, the police said.

According to the New York Times (registration required), Kim Jong-il raked in more than $6 million in two years from the operation.

The hackers have ties to an agency called Office 39, which allegedly generates cash for the regime through drug trafficking, counterfeiting and arms sales. Isn't that nice?

Seoul cops said four South Koreans and a Korean-Chinese were arrested on charges of organising a hacking squad of 30 young video game experts, the New York Times reports.

North Korea denied responsibility and accused Seoul of inventing a conspiracy.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (21) Latest comment 10 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!