Volume LI – Number 2
Dr. Robert E. Rook
Abstract: As the United States and the international community search for more effective sanctions to force the DPRK to the negotiating table, the need for improved understanding of North Korea’s complex sanction evasion techniques becomes pressing. The purpose of this article is to explore the mechanisms that the DPRK has used, and continues to use, to evade sanctions. These include the manufacture and sale of small arms and munitions, the development and sale of ballistic missile technology, and extensive counterfeiting operations. One important and innovative sanction evasion mechanism used by the DPRK is the commission and sale of painting and other works of art through the North Korean art company, Masundae. Through these and other methods, North Korea has successfully overcome international pressure; any future sanctions regime, if it is to be effective in curbing North Korean nuclear ambitions, must take cognizance of them.
Keywords: North Korea, United States, Sanctions, Masundae Art Company, Nuclear Weapons, Sanction Evasion.
About the Author: Dr. Robert E. Rook serves as a Professor in the Department of History and the Director of Interdisciplinary Studies at Towson University. He also performs extensive consultative work for various government agencies.
