The U.S. Justice Department has indicted 34-year-old Park Jin Hyok for his involvement in the breach of Sony Entertainment as well as the WannaCry attack. Park Jin Hyok is also alleged to have been involved with the theft of $81 million from the Bangladesh Bank as well as the crippling attacks on the British National Health Service (NHS). North Korea has denied any allegation that they were involved in any of these attacks. This indictment of a North Korean citizen comes as the United States works to secure some form of proof from North Korea that they are dedicated to improving their relations with other nations. At this time, there has been no statement from North Korea to indicate whether they will turn Park Jin Hyok over to U.S. authorities to stand trial. We will probably never see Park Jin Hyok turned over to stand trial as to do so would be a show by North Korea that they were behind the attacks that they have so vehemently denied any involvement in. However, it would be a huge step in the right direction for North Korea to improve relations with many western nations. The U.S. Justice Department indictment is not the only action being taken on this case though, the U.S. Treasury has also imposed financial sanctions against the Chinese front company, Chosun Expo. While Park Jin Hyok is the only individual currently named in the criminal complaint, the investigation is still ongoing, and more individuals may still be named as U.S. officials continue their investigation.
