Criminal sovereignty

Description

North Korea's criminal conduct, smuggling, trafficking, and counterfeiting, is well known, but the organization directing it is understudied or overlooked. North Korea practices a form of "criminal sovereignty" that is unique in the contemporary international security arena. It uses state sovereignty to protect itself from external interference in its domestic affairs while dedicating a portion of its government to carrying out illicit international activities in defiance of international law and the domestic laws of numerous other nations. The proceeds of these activities are used in a number of ways to sustain North Korea's existence and to enable other policies. The authors of this monograph focus on North Korea's Office #39 as the state apparatus that directs illicit activities to include the manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs, the counterfeiting of U.S. currency, and the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit cigarettes. Finally, as Kim Jong-Il becomes more frail, the authors assess how his successor may continue or alter Office #39's activities.--

Subjects

Series Statement

• Letort papers -- [no. 36]

Links

• http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB975.pdf

Other Editions

• Criminal Sovereignty: Understanding North Korea's Illicit International ActivitiesCreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform2010-01-01
• Criminal sovereigntyStrategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College2010
• Criminal SovereigntyLulu Press, Inc.2011-01-01