That's because North Korea uses proxies with hidden government ties across the globe to facilitate moving those payments, according to the report. North Korea is able to sell goods using a multi-step process, that starts with selling goods to an overseas company, according to court documents cited by The Journal's report. The overseas firm doesn't pay North Korea directly, but a third company as directed by the Pyongyang government. U.S. officials also said North Korea is increasingly breaking its payments into smaller chunks to avoid detection, the publication reported. Earlier this year, the Treasury Department also released information describing how North Korea uses deceptive labeling of cargo ships in order to facilitate the transfer of goods into the country.

Source: Wall Street Journal December 29, 2018 17:37 UTC