South Korea and the United States have simultaneously sanctioned a North Korean individual involved in financing the regime's weapons of mass destruction(WMD) programs through illegal cyber activities.

Seoul's foreign ministry said on Monday that Seoul and Washington added Sim Hyon-sop, an official at the North’s Korea Kwangson Banking Corporation, to their respective sanctions lists.

Sim is accused of laundering illegal funds earned by North Korean hackers staying abroad with false identities and providing them with financial support.

The Seoul government believes Sim was involved in creating funds for the North's WMD programs, including nuclear weapons and missiles, through the money laundering.

The latest move marks South Korea's sixth unilateral sanction since the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol government in May last year, and is the first time Seoul and Washington have simultaneously imposed independent sanctions on the same target in the cyber sector.