The Lazarus Heist S2: 4. Fire and fury

North Korea’s 2016 push for nuclear status relied on provocative missile testing and "hostage diplomacy," exemplified by the detention of American student Otto Warmbier. Following his death in 2017, the United States imposed stringent sanctions to cripple the regime’s illicit revenue, including weapons sales and cybercrime operations coordinated through overseas embassies. Former North Korean diplomat Yoo Hyun-woo details how these diplomatic missions functioned as hubs for illegal activities—ranging from smuggling to hosting hacker dorms—to finance Kim Jong-un’s weapons program. Despite global pressure and the forced repatriation of overseas workers, the regime’s reliance on elite hackers remains a vital survival mechanism. This period of "fire and fury" underscores the regime's extreme isolation and the human cost of its nuclear ambitions, eventually driving even high-ranking, loyal officials to defect as the international community tightened its economic grip.