g-left: 40px”>According to the source, North Korea is eyeing Syria, Iran, and other long-time military cooperation partners as major drone export markets, along with Yemen’s Houthi rebels and armed groups in Africa. The regime has also approached Russia, suggesting significant demand for North Korean drones.
North Korea is developing various strategies to conceal its role as the manufacturer when exporting these weapons, aiming to avoid detection by the international community.
“There was an order early this year not to include manufacturing numbers or markings on the drones,” the source said. “This was to avoid leaving evidence that they were made in North Korea.”
Additionally, the North Korean authorities have planned to disguise weapon shipments by exporting drone components through multiple channels for assembly at their final destinations, rather than shipping fully-assembled drones. According to the source, North Korea has frequently used this method for past arms exports.
Payment methods are also becoming more covert. North Korea particularly favors cryptocurrency payments, attempting to sell arms using Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Monero to avoid transaction tracking.
North Korea further evades international surveillance by using overseas front companies to complicate transaction trails.
“Munitions Industry Department officials quietly boast that selling drones while circumventing sanctions is their specialty,” the source said. “They’re constantly developing new methods to avoid international detection.”
This is not good news.
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