The South Korean government issued an interagency warning against hiring North Korean information technology (IT) workers on Thursday, after U.N. sanctions monitors reported earlier this year that DPRK nationals were securing freelance gigs online.

The statement and instruction issued by Seoul’s National Security Agency and several ministries specifically warn firms to ramp up their screening and conduct more thorough identity checks. 

“North Korea is sending thousands of highly skilled IT workers overseas, including to Asia and Africa, where they live in groups and earn foreign currency by winning IT assignments on online job-hunting platforms,” the notice reads, adding that funds