North Korea’s Criminal Activities in Africa Keep the Cash Flowing to Pyongyang, Experts Say

Proceeds of crimes including wildlife poaching and drug smuggling counter Western sanctions and keep its dictatorial regime in power, according to experts.
North Korea’s Criminal Activities in Africa Keep the Cash Flowing to Pyongyang, Experts Say
North Korean soldiers march during a mass rally on Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang on Sept. 9, 2018. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images
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JOHANNESBURG—North Korean diplomats in Africa continue to run syndicates that are perpetrating crimes, including smuggling critical minerals and trafficking wildlife and narcotics, experts have told The Epoch Times. That money in turn helps to keep North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s regime in power and enable it to develop weapons of mass destruction.

Despite reports and court cases that have exposed the involvement of North Korean officials in crime across Africa, most governments are doing little to stop it, with some even encouraging it, according to investigators.