Illicit Activities of North Korea Presented to U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON - The fourth day of North Korea Freedom Week was marked by a U.S. Senate Hearing held with the purpose of exposing the North Korean regime’s illegal activities that funds its dictatorship.
On Tuesday, a panel of six witnesses sat before the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Gov’t Info & International Security – part of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs – to testify to the possible activities the Kim Jong-Il regime uses to build an economy to continue North Korea’s weapon proliferation.
It is believed that a significant source of the regime’s income is derived from a vast criminal network involved in counterfeiting currency and commercial goods, illegal drug production and trafficking, and slave labor.
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The Director of Asia, Africa and Europe Programs under the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the Department of State maintains that it is “likely, but not certain” that the North Korean government sponsors criminal activities, including narcotics production and trafficking, “as a way to earn foreign currency for the state and its leaders.”
The Department pointed out that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) – North Korea’s official name – is one of the most closed and secretive societies in the world. Knowledge of drug trafficking and other criminal activities come from police and press reports, defector statements, embassy and intelligence reporting of various governments and the findings of trademark-holder investigations.
In addition to narcotics trafficking, the department listed other illegal sources of DPRK’s income including: opium poppy cultivation and heroin production, counterfeit cigarette manufacturing and trafficking, and CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) trafficking.
The production of counterfeit U.S. dollars by the DPRK was discussed by Deputy Assistant Director of the Office of Investigations of the United States Secret Service, Michael Merritt. Merritt described the Supernote family of counterfeit notes – a high quality imitation that often goes undetected until it reaches the Federal Reserve Bank – and linked it the DPRK.
“Through extensive investigation, the Secret Service has made definite connections between these highly deceptive counterfeit notes and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK),” said Merritt to the Subcommittee. “Our investigation has revealed that the Supernote continues to be produced and distributed from sources operating out of North Korea.”
Chuck Downs, author of Over the Line: North Korea’s Negotiating Strategy spoke as a private citizen and author rather than as a member of the board of the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. The author shared his thoughts on actions the U.S. could make to halt North Korea’s Illicit Activities and enhance negotiations with the regime.
“Negotiating with the North Korea criminal state is, not surprisingly, much like dealing with organized crime,” said Downs in his concluding remarks. “The first thing they will do is threaten your security, after which they will try to sell you protection, which they can revoke at their whim. They will be deceitful when they make agreements, and will violate them when they can.”
“As with organized crime, the only way to deal with them successfully is through enforcement-direct pressure focused on ending the benefits of their crimes,” Downs continued. “Confronting North Korea on their lucrative illegal activities holds far more benefits than losses for regional security, and, in fact, it enhances the allied posture in the process of negotiation as well.”
