June 13, 2018
North Korea Must Come Clean About Its Dirty Money
With the June 12 summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un having concluded with a joint statement establishing the mutual desire for the “denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” attention now shifts to building the framework to make those words a reality. From the U.S. perspective, the statement contained few signposts for how North Korea would cease its weapons program. For any process to succeed, Kim must commit to coming clean about North Korea’s systemic and ongoing dirty money habits that have sustained its illicit nuclear program.
For the U.S. administration’s goal of complete North Korean denuclearization to be successful, it must have a financial component. The destruction of test facilities, closure of reactors, and dismantling of missiles are critical stages of any disarmament agreement. Beyond these measures, any complete denuclearization process must include an additional step: Pyongyang must fully disclose the illicit financial networks it has used to raise money and procure materials for its weapons programs.
For decades, North Korea has operated sophisticated overseas networks of shell companies. It has scores of trusted agents to illegally finance and obtain the goods and technology through these fronts for its clandestine weapons of mass destruction program. Over many years Pyongyang has directed significant financial resources through the banking sectors of regional financial centers, like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur, as well as through Europe and the United States. It has disguised the acquisition of prohibited items by masking purchases as legitimate trade by the companies in its trusted network. United Nations Panel of Experts reports have repeatedly documented these proliferation finance practices, highlighting the dire implications for international peace and security.
Read the Full Article at The Diplomat
More from CNAS
-
Podcast
Transatlantic Security / Energy, Economics & Security
LISTEN: Why It’s So Hard to Go After Russia’s Oil RevenueEmily Kilcrease, senior fellow and director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, joins the show to talk about secondary ta...
By Emily Kilcrease
-
Video
Indo-Pacific Security / Energy, Economics & Security
Bloomberg Surveillance | Geoffrey GertzJonathan Ferro, Lisa Abramowicz and Annmarie Hordern speak with Geoffrey Gertz, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security about NVIDIA.Watch the full interview o...
By Geoffrey Gertz
-
Commentary
Energy, Economics & Security / Technology & National Security
Sharper: Chips and Export ControlsAs competition between the United States and China has intensified, advanced technology has become the latest battlefield. After years of restricting China’s access to advance...
By Charles Horn
-
Podcast
Energy, Economics & Security / Technology & National Security
Export Controls: Janet Egan, Sam Levy, and Peter Harrell on the White House's Semiconductor DecisionJanet Egan, a senior fellow with the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, discussed the Trump administration’s recent decision t...
By Janet Egan
