New NK trade officials to PRC; DPRK tourism claims questioned; Iran facing drug shortages; Tehran treaty with Moscow
Prohibited Transactions for the week of 19 August 2024 (#59)
This image was created in Microsoft Copilot Designer on 23 Aug 2024 using the prompt “North Korean artificial intelligence with Pyongyang cityscape in the background, cyberpunk”
North Korea
According to covert reporting from inside North Korea, the government sent approximately 200 new trade officials to the PRC in July, with the initial goal of securing computer-related electronic goods to import to the DPRK. Though many officials are based in the Chinese city of Dandong, Liaoning province, they have been traveling between there and the southern city of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, to procure the goods.
Some North Korea travel experts are skeptical of claims that North Korea will reopen to international tourists in December (see Issue #58). One prominent issue is that the location reportedly to be opened for tourism — the city of Samjiyon in the north of the country near the border with the PRC — is remote and has limited infrastructure for tourism.
It’s unclear if Western tourists would want to visit the city, as opposed to more popular areas such as Pyongyang or Kaesong.
The first tours could be restricted to Russian or Chinese visitors, though Beijing’s displeasure with the DPRK’s relationship with Russia could limit tourists from the PRC.
Between 2017 and 2023, North Korean researchers published 161 scientific journal articles on artificial intelligence (AI), co-authoring articles with researchers from at least 12 countries — including the PRC, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Lithuania, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Uganda, Canada and the United States. This is despite a 2016 UN Security Council Resolution prohibiting scientific and technical cooperation with the DPRK. //As noted in Issue #35, risks from these scientific collaborations include intangible transfers of technology (ITT), and that the knowledge gained by North Korean researchers could be directed toward military AI development.
--
According to covert reporting from inside North Korea, trading companies are using North Korean prison labor to produce goods which are sent to the PRC for eventual sale overseas.
North Korea is allegedly sending workers to Russia, under the pretense of them being international students.
A US tech company — that has been receiving job applications from suspected North Korean information technology workers — identified seven characteristics of applicants that were likely applying with fake identities.
According to covert reporting from inside North Korea, the government is conducting a review of the country’s e-payment system, to ensure the system is stable and able to operate continually.
Iran
Both Tehran and Washington DC deny that sanctions against Iran are impacting the nation’s drug supply. However, Iranian doctors and patients tell a different story, saying that sanctions have increased costs and put more people at risk of dying due to lack of access to needed pharmaceuticals (see Issue #52).
With foreign pharmaceutical companies unable to set up shop in Iran, the cost of medicine acquired overseas is inflated, and makes it difficult for doctors to guarantee the authenticity of the illicitly sourced drugs.
Iran’s foreign ministry states that negotiations with Russia on a “comprehensive long-term cooperation agreement” have been successfully concluded and that the agreement will be implemented soon.
According to Western media reports, Iran is preparing to export close-range ballistic missiles to Russia for their use in Ukraine.
According to Iranian media, Russian and Iranian manufacturers discussed ways to increase the use of Iranian automotive spare parts in Russia’s car market.
--
Iran’s private sector is calling for greater implementation of the 25-year strategic cooperation agreement between Tehran and Beijing, nothing that Iran would be open to Chinese investment in downstream copper industries, as well as Iran’s aluminum and power plant industries,
Iran’s Transport and Urban Development Minister stated that over the last two months, Tehran imported more than 10 airplanes into the country, and that there are no barriers to do so. // With so much focus on Iranian munitions going to Russia, are these illicit imports flying under the radar of the international community?