North Korea citizens working overseas is banned under UN sanction resolution 2397 and all workers should have been repatriated by December 2019. Pyongyang Papers has investigated breaches of the resolution for several years and will continue to do with help from our sources. Recent reports indicate that thousands of workers still reside in China & Russia unsurprisingly, with many more waiting to travel as soon as the North Korean border reopens. For our latest investigation we looked into a number of companies involved in the exportation of DPRK labor.

Korea Namgang Trading General Corporation (NTC)

The Korea Namgang Trading General Corporation (NTC) is a sanctioned North Korean company that also uses the alias Ryongrim General Construction Corporation. NTC was sanctioned by the US for engaging in and facilitating the exportation of North Korean workers to generate revenue for the regime. Namgang are known to send their workers globally to countries like Russia, Nigeria and multiple countries in the Middle East. The March 2022 UN panel of Experts report detailed an entity called Korean Namgang Construction General Corporation (aka DPRK Ryongrim Overseas Construction Company) working with Chinese companies to send DPRK construction workers abroad. Pyongyang Papers wonders if NTC & the Korean Namgang Construction General Corporation are actually the same entity?

Pyongyang Papers has been informed that NTC also has links to a company in Russia called Stroytransgaz-Vostok (Стройтрансгаз-Восток) and are looking at a multi-million $ construction project to build a museum and theater. Stroytransgaz-Vostok is a Russian engineering construction company. The company is a subsidiary of the Stroytransgaz Group controlled by Gennedy Timchenko (Геннадий Тимченко) through his Volga group. Timchenko is known to be close friends with Vladimir Putin and has faced multiple sanctions from the US due to being a member of the Russian leadership inner circle. He has also had assets frozen due to the war on Ukraine. The Stroytransgaz Group has had previous contracts to build museums and theaters and has also been included in the contract to build a cultural center to build ties with Korea, China, and Japan.

Current construction of the cultural center in Vladivostok – Stroytransgaz

Other Russian companies employing North Korean workers

Stroytransgaz-Vostok isn’t the only company in Russia that North Korean workers are sent to – Russian companies that have completed contracts and have employed hundreds of DPRK workers in Russian clothing factories include:

  • Hoebul Company
  • Arovana
  • Russi (Chinamo)
  • Ratulango Clothing Company
  • Unistore Company
  • Energokontakt Company

We are still investigating the companies listed above and would be interested in any additional information available surrounding involvement with DPRK sanction breaking. These companies are located in Moscow, St Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Vladivostok.

The North Korean company involved in some of these deals is Korea Unha General Trading Corporation (조선은하무역총회사). This trading corporation is described as being the largest clothing processing trading company in North Korea. It has 110 factories and even owns its own trading ships! They are known to export clothing, raw materials for the textile and shoe industry, grain, gasoline, diesel oil & North Korean labor!

Countries like Russia and China continue to disobey sanctions and provide the North Korean regime with a constant flow of revenue which is used to fund the nuclear and ballistic weapons program. North Korea continues to launch and test its missiles at an alarming rate. Countries helping fund the regime need to be held accountable to help stop the regime from exploiting its own citizens. If you have any information about North Korean workers in Russian factories, or any of the companies named in this article, please do get in touch through the contact us page.

As we have written about previously, it is well known that North Korea send workers abroad to bring money home for the Regime. Pyongyang Papers have previously talked about Doctors relocating to Africa but for this investigation we are zoning in on Niger and Nigeria. It is known that these workers should have returned home by December 2019 due to sanctions, but one healthcare professional told NKNews that North Koreans are still working in Nigeria despite the ban on overseas DPRK labor. In Novemebr 2020, Nigeria told told the UN Panel of Experts that a group of 37 North Korean healthcare professionals were awaiting deportation but due to lockdowns their cases were stalled. Here at Pyongyang Papers, we wonder if these 37 individuals were ever sent back to their homelands.

What else are they up to?

It has been reported that a range of North Korean-style hospitals have been set up in different African countries and some of them even sell prescriptions for herbal medicines that were later found to contain dangerous amounts of poisonous heavy metals! Information has been passed to us that indicate that complints against the DPRK are on the increase.

Photo
An advert for Faris Hospital Ltd.

One DPRK physician at Faris Hospital Ltd., had his contract terminated due to serious malpractice. Pyongyang Papers are led to believe that this physician is actively looking for a new contract with a number of Nigerian hospitals.

Overseas postings are highly sought after and usually reserved for the upper classes – Doctors in foreign postings can earn $1000 per month with $800 of that going back to North Korea. In contrast, those in the restaurant industry only tend to earn a few hundred dollars with similar proportions being deducted. DPRK doctors also tend to b able to move around more freely and are not restricted to strict rules like those working in restaurants. So no wonder this physician is keen to remain in work abroad!

North Korea’s own healthcare system is in a poor state due to lack of food and drugs – people are self-medicating and are being forced to have amputations when the drugs needed to cure infections are not readily available.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits hospitalized survivors of horror bus crash | CNN
Kim Jong Un visiting patients in hospital

Where is the money?

Lack of funds also appears to be an issue overseas after a prominent member of staff at the Niger Optical Services Co. LTD., hospital located in Igbo-Ukwu Ekwulobia, Nigeria, recorded a complaint to the Chief Representative of the DPRK Chinson General Corporation Representative Office in Nigeria. This was about the medical staff, who joined the srvice in 2019, not generating enough income for the optical service. Pyongyang Papers wonders how much these medical staff are making for the Regime! And if they are not generating money for the service, how long can they remain employed?

Due to a long-standing relationship between Africa and North Korea since the Cold War, and the fact the labor is highly skilled yet cheap, the country and companies within it seems to be ignoring the UN sanctions for their own gain. These health workers in Nigeria and the rest of Africa are in violation of UN security council resolution 2397, even in 2020 (after the workers should have been sent home) North Korea and Nigeria signed a public health cooperation agreement and the Nigerian Health Minister claimed that Nigeria had a desire to learn from North Korea in the sphere of public health – this is concerning to hear with links to malpractice!

If you have any more information about DPRK physicians and health workers in Nigeria, here at Pyongyang Papers, we appreciate anything you can provide us. Please get in contact.

Following on from our previous investigation into Ri Chol Nam, who is involved in DPRK sanction breaking activities, we at Pyongyang Papers hope this next article might help with our appeal for more information on another individual, his associates and illegal activities . . .

Kim Chol Sok

In the March 2022 UN Panel of Experts report, an individual referred to as a North Korean Intelligence Officer of the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), who ran casinos, hotels, restaurants and bars in Cambodia. This individual was named Kim Chol Sok – who was reported to use several alias names including:

  • Sok Kha
  • Lee Un-Kang
  • Chang Sok-Kha
  • Kang Hyok
  • Li Yin-Chiang
  • Steven Lee

One of Kim’s businesses was a travel agency called C.H World Travel Co. Ltd. According to Cambodian authorities, this company was shut down along with its bank accounts. NK News found that in February 2022 this company was still legally registered and its social media was still posting content in September last year, although appearing to have changed its name to OD International Travel.

Cover photo from OD International Travel Facebook page

Money Laundering and Human Trafficking

Knowing that Kim is involved in the entertainment world, it wouldn’t be too far to say that Ri and Kim would have crossed paths, especially as Kim’s travel agency is also based out of Phnom Penh (the same place as Ri’s Unhasu Restaurant!) With both of these individuals having worked in the same city and both known for sanction breaking activity, we believe Kim Chol Sok and Ri Chol Nam worked together on several occasions. From our sources, Ri Chol Nam and Kim Chol Sok were also possibly involved in running money laundering schemes together and with reports of Casinos being used to launder money we wonder if this one way their relationship was mutually beneficial.

During 2014 to 2019 Casino licenses in Cambodia increased by 263% even though the country’s ban on online gambling curtailed the growth. Due to the huge increase in gambling establishments, Police began to struggle to monitor them and thy became attractive to organized crime and money laundering.

Both Ri Chol Nam and Kim Chol Sok are known for sanction breaking activities and Ri also has connections to individuals who operate within the Taiwanese criminal underworld. Kim was sanction by the Department of the treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in 2015 for connections to DPRK’s weapon proliferation efforts and led a criminal empire of business in Cambodia that trafficked illegal drugs, counterfeited currency and offered illegal gambling services.

An article by Agbrief about Kim Chol Sok, also mentioned forced labor in Casinos that goes as far as human trafficking! We at Pyongyang Papers wonder if Kim uses his travel company to bring in workers for his entertainment businesses – if you have any information to back this theory up, please do get in contact. Lee Hong Mann is also included as a second director at CH World Travel, we wander if she is involved too? Lee’s surname may hint at an ethnicaly Korean background but does not appear in any of the UN reports. A scan of a passport appearing to belong to Lee suggests she has been granted access to Canada until at least 2025!

Cambodia and organized crime

Cambodia is one of the few countries in the world where North Korean can go to set up illegal business to interact with legitimate communities around the world – reports show that Pyongyang backed counterfeiters have been laundering fake $100 bills in Cambodia, noting these indivduals also had Cambodian identity cards and passports. Cambodia sells these passports to the highest bidders and the North Koreans pay – to add to this, the Cambodian authorities reported to the UN that Kim Chol Sok used fake diplomatic passports. No question to how he got hold of those!

As of October 2021, the Cambodia authorities were taking legal action to bring Kim Chol Sok to trial but he has not returned since leaving the country in November 2020 – if you have any information on Kim’s whereabouts please do get in touch through the ‘contact us’ page. Even though both Ri Chol Nam and Kim Chol Sok have left Cambodia, we believe they are still working together.

North Koreans brokering deals and earning commission seems to be a current trend that Pyongyang Papers is investigating on a regular basis. This option of earning currency to send back to the regime is attractive as it allows North Koreans to earn money without ultimately having to be directly involved in the movement of good and services which may come under scrutiny. Brokering deals is also very attractive as it allows the North Koreans to stay under the radar of law enforcement whilst ensuring the deals appear completely legitimate. In many cases the vendors involved in the deals may not be aware that North Koreans are facilitating the deal!

Chong Sang-Hun

As mentioned previously, Chong Sang-Hun is an official at the DPRK embassy in Thailand who often brokers deals to earn huge amounts of commission with minimal risks. His previous deals involve gold, coking coal and copper cathodes. Pyongyang Papers sources have informed us that Chong is currently working on a commission based deal worth millions of dollars on behalf of Taiwan based company Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturing Inc. (欣憶電子股份有限公司) – SEM.

SEM street view
Street view of the Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturing office in Taoyuan, Taiwan

SEM, also known as Xinyi Electronic Co., Ltd. at times are “One of the renowned suppliers and exporters of semiconductor machinery in Taiwan” according to their website and are based in Zhongli District in Taoyuan City. Their primary business is buying, selling, leasing and refurbishing semiconductor related equipment. Pyongyang Papers wonders how much the chairman Chu Smith knows about North Korean involvement in brokering business deals for his company? We are continuing to investigate Chong and SEM but if you have any information regarding the deal, please get in touch through the ‘Contact Us’ page.

Brokering deals – A worrying trend

North Koreans and their friends brokering deals, either for the regime or to help the regime, is not new but does appear to increasing in regularity. Back in 2012, a notorious British international arms dealer named Michael Ranger was prosecuted and jailed for brokering an arms deal between North Korea and Azerbaijan. The latest UN Panel of Experts midterm report also note that Haegumgang Trading Corporation, a DPRK weapons trading entity, was planning on brokering $3.5 million worth of military equipment to Nigeria in June 2021, And in July 2021 a South Korean-born Australian named Chan Han Choi was sentenced to over 3 years in prison for breaking UN sanctions by trying to broker deals for missile components and coal to raise funds for the regime, Chan Han Choi had a history on involvement with North Korea and had previously tried to involve North Korean athletes in the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.

Allowing the DPRK to broker deals, and their allies to broker deals on behalf of North Korea unchallenged ensures that the regime has a steady flow of cash to continue to pursue its nuclear ambitions and maintains instability in Asia. Recently the DPRK regime has increased their missile tests to unprecedented levels with Kim Jong Un recently stating the DPRK’s need to secure “overwhelming military power”. This has North Korea watchers around the world wondering if a nuclear test may be imminent. Pyongyang Papers calls on the UN and other investigative bodies to look into the use of brokers and the role they play in avoiding sanctions.

As always, if you have any information regarding the topics in any of our articles, please get in touch through the ‘Contact Us’ page

North Korea is one of the only few countries worldwide that is still not a member of the International Labor Organization (ILO), choosing instead to continue exploiting its citizens and using forced unpaid labor to fuel its economy.

High number of DPRK laborers in China are only increasing

Since Kim Jong Un became leader of the DPRK in 2011, the number of workers sent abroad has increased to earn foreign currency for the regime. DPRK contracts with foreign governments including: Russia; parts of Africa; East and South East Asia; Middle East and Eastern Europe are all receiving forced labor with their movements and communications under constant scrutiny by DPRK government ‘minders’. Any complaints by the workers, or those who flee, will have consequences and will result in action being taken against their relatives back in the homeland.

We all know the Human Rights are an issue when related to the DPRK, well, Pyongyang Papers have been tipped off about incidents of assault amongst North Korean Laborers by their unit managers within their neighbors and close ally, China. Is China also turning a blind eye to this behavior? The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has a long record of circumventing sanctions in order to trade with the DPRK. According to the U.S. State Department’s 2021 Trafficking in Person’s report, there are between 20,000 to 80,000 DPRK workers in China. With reports suggesting that the Chinese Labor market is worsening (worse than the official monthly figures) with less jobs available nationwide and Chinese youth jobless rates hitting record high of 20% in July, we are not sure how much work there actually is for these thousands of North Korean workers when they get to China. With money still being sent home to the Regime, China is paying the price for this partnership.

Forced to work in poor conditions

Those that do have work are subject to back-breaking labor for 12 hours a day and are even banned from leaving their accommodation or work places since the Covid pandemic – even before that, they were only allowed to leave for their local markets in small groups. Add these poor conditions to the reports of assaults, the DPRK workers are more like slaves! North Korean authorities have also sent orders to the North Korean consulate, underscoring that officials should keep a closer eye on the workers to prevent them form fleeing and to work harder. These orders have obviously trickled down to the managers and put pressure on them to deliver! Pyongyang Papers would like to think this is isolated, but fears the worst, as we understand several China-based DPRK labor cooperation managers had verbally abused, along with physically attacking their fellow countrymen.

North Korean workers and imports continue to cross border into China despite UN sanctions | South China Morning Post
DPRK laborers allowed to leave their dorms

As well as failing to send the DPRK workers home before December 2019 deadline (as ordered by UN sanctions), it looks like the Chinese companies that employ these illegal workers also have no regard for their safety and well being. There is no excuse for this behavior and in a civilized society this conduct would not be tolerated. Perhaps the managers are more concrrned by meeting targets than the welfare of their underlings.

There are so many wrong doings on DPRK workers in China but as usual, money comes before basic human rights. Will the international community stand by the people of North Korea by putting further pressure on Pyongyang? If you have any information about DPRK workers in China, please reach out to us.

In one of our previous articles, we wrote about illegal DPRK restaurants in Laos, this left Pyongyang Papers with many questions; mainly how have the North Koreans been able to stay under the radar of the authorities in Laos even after the UN Panel of Experts have been investigating their activity. Luckily some people do have insight into this murky world and have been willing to share their knowledge with us. A common theme that seems to appear often is … bribery.

North Korean run restaurants in Laos

Perhaps not that unsurprising, given the previous methods we have seen used by North Korea to avoid sanctions and make money for the regime, Pyongyang Papers has been informed that when looking to open a restaurant the North Koreans will often find a local contact and use their details to setup a business in their name. If a restaurant is closed down, the name of the restaurant is often changed and new business registered under the local contacts name. In some cases it appears that some of these restaurants shut for ‘renovation work’ before re-opening as if it was a completely new place to eat. As mentioned previously, According to the 2022 UN Panel of Experts report, four North Korean restaurants are still in operation even after measures were taken to close them down. DPRK nationals also continue working in these restaurants despite an earlier deadline to repatriate them. Virtually nothing is known about these illegal workers. An online review spoke about one of these restaurants and noted that it appears they are not allowed to interact with non-North Koreans and politely smile when asked anything about the restaurant they are working in. In one interview, a waitress declared that the restaurant she worked in was “owned by all North Koreans” and nodded when asked if the North Korean Government owned it.

Work permits & the authorities

So how do these North Koreans get work permits to continue working in countries like Laos? After all, it is well known that allowing DPRK nationals to work overseas is against UN resolutions. It appears it is common practice to bribe the Laos police to stop reports of illegal working making its way to the attention of those who could potentially stop it happening and make it hard for the restaurants to operate successfully. The corruption doesn’t end there though! We have also learnt that even the Laos immigration authorities will take bribes for processing work permits. This seems to be a common practice in Laos – According to a report by Asia Development Bank, almost 70% of businesses that applied for documentation had paid bribes to officials to get the job done. Connections and money are integral for doing business in Laos!

North Korean girls perform at a North Korean restaurant – Source AP

To go even further up the chain of bribery. We have been made aware that even a Laos judge has been bribed by North Koreans. This time the bribery relates to making a favorable judgement to a North Korean who was having difficulty getting money off a Laos national they had been working with. How ironic that the North Koreans are plying their illegal trade and have to appeal for justice after being scammed!

Of course authorities taking bribes isn’t new, but with North Korea recently declaring itself a nuclear weapons state its more vital than ever that authorities tackle the flow of money heading back to the regime and we hope the Laos government will take some action against this happening. It has been suggested by the Laos Chamber of Industry and Commerce to go to an online processing method to minimize person to person contact and in turn the opportunities for bribery. As always, Pyongyang Papers will continue to investigate illicit activity by the DPRK and other entities or countries that are involved in enabling the regimes nuclear and ballistic weapons program. If you have anything you would like us to investigate then please get in touch through the ‘contact us’ page.

June 24, 2022 was a day of significance as it marks the 48th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the DPRK and The Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The friendship and cooperation between the two countries was forged and deepened through historic summits of 1965 and 1970 between Kim Il Sung and leader of Lao people- Kaysone Phomvihane. Today, the DPRK government remain unchanged in their resolve to develop the relations of ‘friendship’ with Laos.

Pyongyang Papers asks the question, “does DPRK need Laos more than Laos needs DPRK?” We would suggest that the DPRK only need Laos as a money generator for the regime and therefore have no problem severing any ties if they do not get what they want i.e. money. So, is this true friendship?

North Korean restaurants in Laos

With easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions in Asia, people have been able to travel again. The backpacker trail is opening up with travelers seeking out new experiences.

Pyongyang Papers has been tipped off by a backpacker that restaurants in Laos are still operating using North Korean workers. Despite UN Security Council resolution 2397 requiring all Member States to repatriate, by December 22, 2019.

All North Korean entities (including restaurants) are supposed to have been closed down under UN sanctions which prevent North Korea from having overseas workers. It is well documented that North Korea exploit their citizens by sending them abroad to earn foreign currency which is then sent back to the hermit state. These restaurants are another example of this, and the money is certainly not for the good of the impoverished, starving people but more likely end up funding weapons of mass destruction.

Our backpacker found a very unusual dining option in Vientiane, 원언니식당 (Won Onni Sikdang) – which translates to Big Sister Won’s restaurant. This restaurant, conveniently located close to the DPRK Embassy in Vientiane, doesn’t offer Laos cuisine, but instead seems to be a North Korean restaurant and has multiple 5-star reviews on Google.

Google reviews of “Big Sister Won” restaurant confirm the restaurant has been operating in 2022.

So what’s in it for the DPRK regime? Sources confirm that the North Korean restaurant menu requests payment in US dollars and not Laotian Kip. This is another way that the DPRK can seek to launder its ill-gotten gains, and a source of foreign currency for the regime. We don’t believe that this is just a business set up by an enterprising North Korean expatriate. Any North Korean restaurant will certainly have to pay a retainer or fee to the DPRK embassy in Laos just in order to operate, which is forwarded onto the DPRK regime.

According to the 2022 UN Panel of Experts report, Big Sister Won’s restaurant is not the only North Korean restaurant believed to still be in operation in Laos. The UN report details four North Korean restaurants and one night market, including their locations and images, which appear to have continued to operate “even after the applicable measures towards the closure of the restaurants and repatriation were taken by the Laotian authorities in 2020”. This is a direct violation of the December 2019 United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2397.

Kumkangsan Restaurant

The UN report however does not mention Big Sister Won’s restaurant, it seems this one may have slipped under the radar somehow. Our sources have informed us of another North Korean restaurant in Vientiane; Kumkangsan Restaurant (ອາຫານ ຄຶ່ມກ່າງຊານ) on Asean Road, Sisavath Village, Vientiane. The Kumkangsan restaurant seems to have a shop attached- we wonder what they sell?

Social media post confirm Kumkangsan restaurant is in operation as of May 2022.

The latest UN Panel of Experts report states that Laotian authorities took action against the North Korean restaurants in 2020 but our investigation proves that more needs to be done to stop the regimes illicit activity in Laos. Pyongyang Papers is still investigating DPRK run restaurants in Laos and would like to hear from you if you have any further information on the entities named in this article or any other individuals and entities helping the North Korean regime avoid sanctions so that we can investigate further.

Pyongyang Papers has extensively reported on the topic of sanctioned DPRK citizens abroad, but it doesn’t seem to be improving as far as we can see.

Why are North Korean workers abroad a problem?

It not uncommon for people of all nationalities around the world to move and seek employment abroad for a range of different reasons including experiencing different cultures, a better quality of life and for financial gain. Unfortunately for North Korean citizens the situation is very different. Citizens of the DPRK are not afforded the luxury of the freedom to travel abroad unless the regime requires them to do so and that requirement is usually to make money for the regime!

Since 2017, all UN member states have been prohibited from providing work authorizations for DPRK nationals in their countries as well as ensuring that any present North Korean workers were repatriated by the end of 2019. The resolution was introduced to try and stem the flow of foreign currency heading back to the regime in support of its nuclear and ballistic weapons program and to stop the exploitation of North Korean citizens who are not protected by labor laws and often have their human rights easily violated.

An ongoing issue

There continues to be regular reports of North Korean workers being sent abroad with the ongoing pandemic around the world being used as a reason for not being able to repatriate those already abroad. The latest UN Panel of Experts report documents several instances of overseas workers still earning currency in China, Equatorial Guinea, Lao, Russia and Vietnam across a variety of different industries including construction, clothing, IT and the restaurant trade.

The majority of overseas workers are believed to be in China and Russia. Given the historical ties between the 3 countries, the shared border offering easy transit during non-pandemic times and North Korea labor costing half as much as native labor this may not be a huge surprise. Worryingly the attitude of China and Russia, who both claim to faithfully implement the UN sanctions, can be easily determined from their replies to the UN Panel’s requests.

For example, when questioned about entities using DPRK labor, China responded “The companies mentioned in the Panels letter only have the English and Korean names. Since China’s business registration system uses only Chinese language, we cannot conduct comparison and verification, and if the Panel requires China to verify every time it gets some new information, it will be a huge burden of work. It is also by no means the obligation of the Chinese government”.

China’s response to using DPRK labor, UN PoE report S/2022/132

Korea 51 Trading Corporation

China may not care, but Pyongyang Papers does! We have been informed that the DPRK company, Korea 51 Trading Corporation are looking to renew labor contracts for the next 10-years. Korea 51 Trading Corporation appeared in the August 2020 Panel of Experts report for sending 292 DPRK nationals in January 2020 and 190 in August 2019 to work for a clothing comoany called Dandong Manch’o’p Clothing Cooperative Ltd. The panel noted that Korea 51 may be using a different name. As part of the contract we have been made aware of, 900 North Korean laborers will be sent to two Chinese corporations– we have been informed that one of the corporations to receive the laborers are China Yanbian Jinyang Industry Co., Ltd (延边金洋实业有限公司).

Yanbian Jinyang Industry Co., Ltd are a company located in Kaishantun Town, Longjing City, Yanbian Prefecture, directly next to the DPRK border. The company is involved in many different businesses according to listings online including contracting, construction, mechanical processing, chemicals, metals, glass and processing and sales of clothing. The executive director listed as Li Yang (李洋). In addition to the 900 North Korean laborers, another 1,000 workers already in the area of Longjing would be transferred to work for the Chinese corporation.

The labor market

Recent reports suggest that the labor market has tightened recently due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as demand for workers increases. A recent radio free Asia article reports on North Korean placement officials demanding more money and incentives which in turn leads to potentially even more money for the regime.

China are not the only country that is still breaking UN sanctions. During our investigation we have come across more information about a contract whereby UN sanctioned DPRK laborers would be working in the clothing industry in Nigeria. It appaers that The DPRK Nigerian Representative Office of an entity named Chinson General Co., Ltd and a Nigerian clothing manufacturing company called Purple Firm located in Lagos, are working on a 3-year labor contract. Details are very limited but Pyongyang Papers will continue to explore and expose any additional details we uncover.

Stopping the problem

Instances of North Koreans working abroad to fund the regime are easy to find and our investigation proves that the problem isn’t going to be resolved anytime soon. Countries like China use poor excuses to avoid thoroughly investigating evidence that suggests sanctions breaking activity is happening within their borders. Until all members of the UN unite and enforce the resolutions they have agreed to then the DPRK regime will continue to make large sums of money by exploiting its own citizens.

As always, if you have any information on sanctioned North Korean activity please get in touch with Pyongyang Papers.

Information given to Pyongyang Papers indicates that in excess of 350 sanctioned DPRK workers and their families are still residing in Republic of Congo (ROC), despite UN sanctions.

Since 2006, the UN Security Council has passed a number of sanctions to try and deter North Korea from continually developing and testing their nuclear & ballistic weapons, money laundering, cyber attacks and human rights violations. These sanctions have had a heavy toll on North Korea’s economy but have been undermined by failure of some countries to enforce them, and in some cases break them.

Africa relationship

Historically, North Korea helped Africa in condemning the European colonialism in Africa by providing military and civil support in revolutionary movements across the continent and in return were successful in making sure South Korea couldn’t join the Non-aligned Movement, the largest grouping of states outside of the UN. Since then, North Korea and Africa have maintained a close relationship to achieve political goals, even if it means Africa is undermining UN sanctions!

The presidential palace in Windhoek is one of many monuments in Africa designed and constructed by North Korea.

Republic of Congo

Pyongyang Papers has been informed of trouble for two North Korean doctors contracted to a local government hospital in the Republic of Congo by the DPRK Ministry of Public Health. This is not the first time that Pyongyang Papers has reported on North Korean doctors illegally working in the ROC, and it seems clear they show no signs of stopping.

The doctors were severely reprimanded by the manager from the DPRK Ministry of Public Health representative office located in the Republic of Congo. The reprimand was due to misconduct involving illegally selling traditional oriental medicine, known as Koryo medicine, at local governmental hospitals as well as openly fighting each other over who would treat patients!

Korea Moranbong Medical Cooperation Center

An organization who consistently appear to be involved in sanction evasion activity is the Korea Moranbong Medical Cooperation Center. Pyongyang Papers have already shed light on their previous involvement in brokering deals to facilitate North Korean doctors working in Africa. You can read more about Moranbong activities in our articles ‘DPRK doctors operate around sanctions‘ and ‘North Korean doctors remain in Africa‘

A representative of the Korea Moranbong Medical Cooperation Center in the Republic of Congo has made a request to the authorities of Congo for a visa extension for two doctors located in a joint DPRK-Congo medical clinic located in the market area of Pointe-Noire. We are still currently looking into the visa extension request to see if there are anything else we can uncover!

Pyongyang Papers have also been made aware that officials from DPRK and Republic of Congo have been in discussions and have agreed to issue residency visas to 38 DPRK laborers.

Some progress?

In better news, Pyongyang Papers have found out that not all African countries are so relaxed about breaking UN sanctions placed on North Korea. Chad is a landlocked country at the center of Africa that has a strong relationship with the US who established diplomatic relations with in 1960 after Chad’s independence from France.

Pyongyang Papers has recently been informed that the Government of Chad have postponed a contract with a Chad based company called Groupe Awlad Abdelmouti due to concerns over the current sanction’s situation. Awlad Abdelmouti is a deign and engineering company based in the capital of Chad, N’Djamena. The company is involved in architecture and building projects. They also operate in the trade industry and appear to sell hardware and building materials and order some of their products from Turkey.

Groupe Awlad Abdelmouti had been contracted by Presidential Department of Chad to construct the Martyr’s Museum, which in itself isn’t the problem, the problem is that the company is using sanctioned DPRK laborers.

This is good news and shows that there are serious attempts to stamp out sanctions evasion involving the DPRK. If Africa were to stand united and follow in Chads footsteps then maybe some real progress would be made in bringing much need stability to the region and help end Kim Jong Un’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. If you have any information relating to sanctions evasion by the DPRK please contact Pyongyang Papers!

Since 2017, The United Nations has listed coal amongst the goods and services sanctioned against the DPRK. The Security Council decided the “DPRK shall not supply, sell or transfer, directly or indirectly from its territory any coal“. The resolutions also state “All states shall prohibit the procurement of such material from the DPRK”.

Despite sanctions the DPRK have continued to trade coal illicitly. This has been done through a network of illegal overseas business transactions and deceptive maritime ship-to-ship transfers with states who are willing to assist in sanction breaking activity.

Foreign currency

As reported previously, coal is North Korea’s major export and foreign currency earner. Most of North Korea’s coal is exported through China in a clear breach of UN sanctions. Estimates for DPRK coal reserves at around 4.5 billion tonnes worth in the region of $600 billion.

According to UN report in 2020, North Korea exported 3.7 million metric tons of coal between January & August 2019 despite sanctions, with estimated earnings of $370 million through these exports. However, exports did drop during the COVID-19 pandemic as North Korea closed its borders to slow the spread of the virus, having resumed again since. It has been reported that the DPRK exported several dozen shipments of illegal coal to Chinese waters and ports between September 2020 and October 2021, data and satellite imagery sourced to an unspecified UN member state indicated in the report.

According to a DailyNK report, coal mines in DPRK were ordered to engage in a week long campaign in February to generate foreign currency, scrambling coal to the port of Nampo for export. Although DPRK has an abundance of coal for burning, it is known that DPRK does not have any reserves of coking coal which is used mainly in iron ore smelting for making steel, the hermit state has a long history of importing this commodity. For a long time the DPRK has been trying to develop its own technology to produce coking coal from its own anthracite. if only it was that easy!

Coking Coal?

Although the DPRK has no coking coal, it does have substantial reserves of anthracite in the city of Anju and other areas of production. So where and how do the DPRK regime get their coking coal if they don’t have any? Pyongyang Papers has been investigating a Mongolian based company named Hanne Ulaan LLC who we believe to be involved.

It appears we aren’t the only ones to have looked into this company, according to the 2021 UN report, Choi Chon Gon (Mr. Choi) is a resident of the Russian federation and traveled to Mongolia in January 2019 for the purpose of setting up Hanne Ulaan LLC. Following the Mongolian investigations, it was noted that the company’s registration documentation was forwarded to an address in Moscow that matches that of the embassy of the DPRK. Subsequently, Hanne Ulaan LLC has been identified as a DPRK front company for the purpose of evading sanctions and was subject to frozen bank accounts by the Mongolian authorities.

Russian & Bulgarian involvement

Through Pyongyang Papers sources, we understand that Choi Chon Gon the general director of Mongolia-based Hanne Ulaan LLC worked with a Bulgarian based company named StaCom Inc. Ltd to purchase Russia-origin coking coal worth millions of dollars. Enabling the regime to produce steel, likely for their weapons program and the construction industry. StaCom Inc. Ltd is an exporter of coal, coke & petroleum products and have been trading since 1990. Stayko Georgiev Staykov is listed as the manager of StaCom Inc. Ltd with the company name appearing to change several times since 1990. Its clear StaCom place profit margins above the UN’s desire to stop the regimes ambitions for global instability. Even though the companies Bulgarian registry listing states they “trade in coal and coke, as well as any other activity with goods and services not prohibited by law.”

We believe that Mr. Choi is an associate of an individual named So Myong, a Hanne Ulaan, LLC representative located at the DPRK consulate in Vladivostok, Russia, involved with large deliveries of coking coal. There remains the question of how the commodity makes its way to DPRK, it is known that this is done through ship to ship transfers and we suspect that the port of Posyet may be used for loading the product before it makes its journey towards North Korea. Posyet port is conveniently located just north of the North Korea-Russia border on the east coast, making logistics fairly straightforward.

Posyet Port, Russia.

China

As Pyongyang Papers has previously mentioned, China remains one of the DPRK’s key allies in illicit trade deals. It has been reported that China is currently experiencing coal shortages due to a reduction in imports and decreased domestic production. The DPRK are all too willing to aid their energy-hungry neighbor and continue to export coal across the border.

When investigating Hanne Ulaan, LLC, Pyongyang Papers came across additional illicit activity in Mongolia. We have found that a likely DPRK front company named Uran Tech LLC, located in Mongolia, is to sell 50,000 metric tons of coal to the Dandong based Chinese trading corporation China Dandong Jinquan Import and Export Trading Co., Ltd. (丹东金泉进出口贸易有限公司). Dandong is the largest Chinese border city located on the western border of North Korea, facing Sinuiju, North Korea, with the two cities connected by the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge. It is hardly a surprise that this would be likely location for cooperation between DPRK and China and we have previously reported on the use of Dandong in many illicit DPRK-China trade deals. The Mongolia-based North Korean official Han Cho’ng-kyu is to share commission with a Chinese business partner Tian Mingxing on the deal which is worth nearly $3 million.

What it all burns down to?

Pyongyang Papers investigations once again show how the regime continue to prevail in their sanction breaking activity. There is no doubt that what has been highlighted above is only a small portion of the overall activity and with so much revenue generated, the regime will not be burning out any time soon. It remains a sad and desperate image of the regime as they continue to focus on fueling their weapons program rather than looking after the health & prosperity of their people. Especially as recent reports from the regime have confirmed a surge in potential COVID-19 cases. Pyongyang Papers will continue to highlight the illegal activity involving the DPRK. If you have any information related to this activity that could expose the DPRK, please do contact us.