North Korea - The UN Panel of Experts published its Midterm report

The Panel of Experts established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1874 (2009) has issued the midterm report on its work. During the reporting period, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continued to maintain and develop its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

No test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles or nuclear tests were reported. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea tested a new short-range ballistic missile combining ballistic and guidance technologies, and otherwise maintained and improved its ballistic missile and nuclear infrastructure. It continued to seek material and technology for these programmes overseas. Maritime exports from the North Korea of coal and other sanctioned commodities continued, but at a much reduced level. The import of oil products also fell substantially in the first half of 2021. Maritime and financial investigations demonstrated increasing sophistication by both vessels and the management and ownership structures supporting them in order to evade sanctions. Misuse of automatic identification systems continued; the fleet of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continued to acquire vessels; and the country continued to sell fishing rights in its waters. The import of luxury goods into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea all but halted. The Panel continued to investigate the involvement of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in global cyberactivity and the collaboration of its academics and universities with scientific institutes abroad, focusing on studies with potential applications in weapons of mass destruction programmes. The Panel considers both cybertheft of funds and know-how and the intangible transfer of technology via academic means to be important issues. Source: UN document S/2021/777