North Korea has exploited “non-financial” businesses and professions, including precious metals dealers, estate agents and a casino, to evade international sanctions, a new report has revealed.
Pyongyang has proved adept at accessing the global financial system despite a 15-year US-led international sanctions regime. Sanctions were intensified in 2017 after North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the US mainland.
But North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes have continued apace. On Wednesday, it fired a suspected ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan, according to the South Korean and Japanese governments.