In an indirect way, yes. According to an article from the New York Times, a team of hackers from North Korea infiltrated gaming sites and earned points that could be turned into cash. The article states that the money is used to fuel Kim Jong il’s extravagant lifestyle as well as his nuclear program. Since the UN put sanctions onto the North Korean government they’ve had to look elsewhere for funding.
While most of the country is poverty-stricken and forced to deal with hardships on a daily basis, Mr. Kim and his elite personnel are using this gold farming scheme for games such as Lineage as one of the many ways to bring in money for illegal activities in isolationist nation. In around two years time these gold farmers made about two million dollars, which is no meager amount. Agents were required to send at least 500 dollars back to the government each month, which makes ya wonder: Where did the rest of the money go?
[Source: New York Times]
[Image: MMOMFG]
