American productions in North Korea: Clandestine subcontracting revealed

The case revealed by the American media outlet 38 North is causing a stir: North Korean workers have allegedly been involved in the production of several foreign animated series, including Invincible, broadcast on Amazon Prime Video. Despite the severe economic sanctions imposed on Pyongyang by the United Nations and the United States, North Korea manages to circumvent these restrictions and continues to involve itself in American productions in North Korea via clandestine means.

North Korea’s historic expertise in animation

North Korea has a long tradition of animation. Studios such as the government-run SEK Studio have produced cartoons for the domestic market, but also for foreign clients. In 2021, SEK Studio was placed under US sanctions due to its direct link with Kim Jong-Un’s regime. Yet North Korea’s involvement in American productions persists, despite these international sanctions.

The flaw that exposed North Korean outsourcing

The case began with a misconfigured North Korean cloud server, providing an unexpected insight into Pyongyang’s role in foreign animation projects. This server revealed that foreign companies, potentially unknowingly, may have hired North Korean firms for animation or information technology (IT) projects. This incident highlights the difficulties encountered by foreign companies in ensuring that their subcontractors comply with the economic sanctions imposed.

Pressure on the global animation industry

As demand for content continues to grow, production studios often find themselves outsourcing projects to meet audience expectations. Platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and HBO Max publish streaming content, requiring a speed of execution that pushes creatives to outsource some of the work, particularly for visual effects and animation.

The race to rapid production

This increased pressure has sometimes led to inferior results, as demonstrated by some recent Marvel projects, notably the criticized visual effects of the She-Hulk series.

Circumventing sanctions: The role of Chinese companies

Although there is no direct evidence that American studios were informed of this subcontracting to North Korea, it is likely that certain Chinese companies acted as intermediaries. These companies, based in cities close to the North Korean border, would have subcontracted parts of American productions to North Korean teams. This would enable North Korea to generate revenue despite the sanctions, which is causing concern for the US Treasury.

North Korean workers in the computer industry

In addition to animation, North Korean workers are also employed abroad, mainly in China, in sectors such as IT. These professionals would take part in international projects without the end customers being aware of their origin. This strategy would enable the North Korean regime to circumvent the trade restrictions imposed by sanctions, while taking advantage of international demand for low-cost outsourced services.

Conclusion: International companies need to be even more vigilant

This case highlights the challenges facing companies that outsource their projects. In a globalized world where content production is constantly on the increase, it is increasingly difficult to ensure that subcontractors comply with international regulations. The case of American productions in North Korea reveals the importance of heightened vigilance to avoid violating, even unintentionally, the economic sanctions in force against countries such as North Korea.

Sources

• 38north
• leparisien
• courrierinternational