North Korea’s Illicit Trade Winds: Hugh Griffith

North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations Kim Song demanded that the United States release a North Korean vessel that is currently held by authorities in American Samoa, warning that the detention of the vessel would imperil any future disarmament negotiations.

But wait, why is there a North Korean vessel in American custody in the first place?

To answer that, our guest today is Hugh Griffith, the author of the UN panel of experts report on international sanctions against North Korea.

(You can also find the full report here: https://www.undocs.org/S/2019/171)

In this interview, he tells Korean Kontext about how North Korea has been using ship-to-ship transfers to evade sanctions and how illicit cybercrime activities now bring in as much revenue for Pyongyang as its weapons sales.