In one of the week's oddest stories, the New York Times reports that North Korea, led by notorious despot Kim Jong-il, is using a team of hackers to infiltrate popular South Korean MMORPGs and farm in-game points.

Apparently, specially trained North Korean hackers, working in concert with South Korean and Chinese operatives, have been infiltrating popluar South Korean MMOs like Lineage, accumulating in-game points, then selling them on the Internet black market. Teams of farmers work around the clock from a base in Northern China. The Times says they have earned over $6 million for their efforts, over half of which has been delivered to North Korean agents in the captial of Pyongyang, .

It's speculated that this group operates out of an ilicit North Korean special division that raises money through various illegal activities like drug trafficking. Western sources believe the money generated through these activities is used to help fund North Korea's nuclear program and Kim Jong-il's lavish lifestyle. I encourage you to read the full New York Times article, it's an extremely interesting piece.

Source: New York Times via MMOMFG