South Korea and the United States are conducting joint research to strengthen protection against cryptocurrency heist attempts amid growing concerns of such attacks by North Korea-linked hackers, officials said on Sunday.

Based on a recently signed technical annex between the South Korean government and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the two sides will jointly develop technologies to prevent cryptocurrency-targeted attacks and to track stolen assets, according to authorities and cybersecurity industry officials.

The science ministry plans to support such research through the Institute of Information and Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation until 2026, reports Yonhap news agency.

The move comes as the price of bitcoin recently surged to $100,000 after the U.S. presidential election last month, raising concerns of increased attempts by hackers to steal virtual assets.

While the United States collaborates with other countries for cybersecurity research, it is known to have chosen South Korea for research on digital asset tracking technology as North Korea is seen as a key culprit behind cryptocurrency heists.

Under the programme, South Korean and U.S. researchers, including those from Korea University and the RAND Corp. research institute, will focus on technologies to prevent and track hackers when they steal assets from a cryptocurrency exchange.

They will also focus on understanding how they convert or launder other financial assets they obtain into virtual assets through illegal ransomeware or other methods.

North Korea is known as a major player in cryptocurrency heists, with hackers linked to the country estimated to have stolen $1.34 billion worth of cryptocurrency across 47 incidents this year, according to Chainalysis, a leading blockchain analysis firm.

Meanwhile, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) chief said last month that the government needs to closely monitor unfair transactions in the cryptocurrency market.

"The price of virtual assets has recently been shooting up in a very short period of time, and with heavy volatility of the market itself, the government needs to closely monitor possible unfair transactions," FSC Chairman Kim Byoung-hwan told public broadcaster KBS.