North Korea greets the crypto industry with an international conference

North Korea plans the "International Conference of the Korean Blockchain"

It is well known that the scope of the cryptocurrency industry extends from the northernmost tip of Canada, right in the heart of South Africa. And although the crypt has its roots in almost all countries, nations and regions, many would not be able to believe that the crypt has obtained adoption in North Korea, which has become known for its nature as the so-called "hermit kingdom" .

However, the Asian country has apparently adopted cryptocurrencies with a misstep, revealing recently that it will host a blockchain and a cryptocentric conference. According to the Straits Times, a news source based in Singapore, North Korea plans to host a conference in Pyongyang (NK Capital) on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in October of this year.

Citing the South Korean Yonhap outlet, according to Straits Times reported that the conference, called "Korean International Blockchain Conference", will be held over a period of two days starting from October 1st. RFA, the umpteenth news agency, reported that after the entire conference, North Korea intends to bring world-renowned blockchain and cryptocurrency experts to the same room to meet with NK executives.

It has been added that this meeting, scheduled for October 3, will not be unilateral, with North Korea intending to show its skills in the field of decentralized accounting technologies.

Skepticism & Confusion

While the country, led by Kim Jong-Un, seems to have high hopes for this conference, some critics remain skeptical about the possibility that this conference will see success. The original report that interrupts this argument does not mention any solid logistics, which is worrying, to say the least

It is not clear who will speak at the conference, or how the country's travel bans will be treated. These factors only prove that North Korea may not be ready to host such a conference.

Others appear to be critical of the country's "prowess" in cryptographic and related technological advances. As reported by a recent report by Yonhap, the aforementioned South Korean news report, North Korea tried to encrypt mines, but later failed. Citing a report from the Development Bank of South Korea, North Korea tried to extract Bitcoin between May and July last year, but was welcomed with little success.

The report alludes to the fact that North Korea intended to collect cryptocurrency holdings to circumvent the sanctions placed on the country, probably to further build its nuclear arsenal which is widely publicized as North Korea's biggest success.

Some believe that the local government has additional reasons to host this conference. As reported earlier by Ethereum World News, a group of hackers based on North Korea, dubbed "Lazarus", "successfully compromised several banks and infiltrated a series of global exchanges of cryptocurrencies and fintech companies". Although it has not been confirmed, some speculate that the apparently crypted Lazarus group has ties to the government. Taking this into account, some believe that many the conference is just a means for North Korea to gather the knowledge needed to further circumvent the sanctions.

So only time will tell if this conference will go to port as it should.

  By Bjørn Christian Tørrissen - Personal Uploader, http://bjornfree.com/kim/, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link