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North Korea is preparing to ship war drones to U.S. adversaries, including Iran and its proxy forces, according to a new is accelerating military drone production, despite long-standing international sanctions aimed at curbing its arms trade. Newsweek reached out to the North Korean embassy in China via email with a request for comment outside of office It MattersNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un in November ordered his government to "begin full-scale production as soon as possible." In a bid to strengthen ties with its limited international partners and secure foreign currency, Pyongyang has developed increasingly sophisticated methods to evade detection amid sanctions put in place by the United Nations to curb its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile prospective recipient is Russia, which the U.S. and South Korea say has already received thousands of containers of North Korean munitions to support its invasion of To KnowNorth Korean authorities began inspecting drones for export on March 7, with those passing inspection set for immediate shipment, a high-ranking North Korean official told Seoul-based media organization Daily NK in a Wednesday include longtime North Korean ally Iran, Syria, the Islamist Houthi rebels of Yemen, militant groups in Africa, and reportedly Russia, the source drones are being manufactured in a factory in the western province of North Pyongan Province, including reconnaissance and loitering suicide unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).The source also shed light on government plans to avoid international attention, including shipping UAV components separately via different routes to be assembled upon arrival—a method often used in previous weapons increase covertness, the country favors untraceable transactions through cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum and operates through front companies in other countries to further complicate payment structures, the source told the news People Are SayingVann Van Diepen, former weapons of mass destruction expert for the U.S. State Department, wrote for North Korea-focused specialty site 38 North: "As with other conventional weapons, Pyongyang might try to compete on price, but it is unclear if it would be able to charge much less than other non-Western suppliers with established production lines or whether the Saetbyol-4 and -9 will be seen as sufficiently capable technologically to be worth what the North would charge for them."What Happens NextIt's unclear how the U.N. and regional enforcement partners, including the U.S., would respond to these shipments. However, Security Council permanent member Russia's move last year to dismantle the U.N. sanctions review panel on North Korea may weaken enforcement efforts, making it easier for Pyongyang to evade scrutiny and expand its arms exports.
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