A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva, October, 2014. Reuters-Yonhap

South Korea on Thursday issued an interagency advisory against the hiring of North Korean information technology workers with disguised nationalities amid reports that the country is using them as a source of foreign currency earnings.

In the advisory, the foreign, unification and ICT ministries called on local companies to strengthen background checks in recruiting IT workers at home and abroad, adding that a significant portion of earnings by those workers is channeled into the North's nuclear and missile development. (Yonhap)