N. Korean diplomats smuggle rhino horns to raise cash: report
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North Korean diplomats are reportedly earning foreign currency by smuggling rhino horns. / Courtesy of Twitter
By Lee Jin-a
North Korean diplomats are peddling rhinoceros horns in Africa, according to a U.S.-based media outlet Tuesday.
Radio Free Asia (RFA) said 29 diplomats have been arrested in Africa for smuggling rhino horns and elephant tusks since 1986 and 16 of them were from North Korea.
RFA reported that the latest case involved a diplomat at the North Korean embassy in South Africa who was indicted for illegally selling 4.5 kilograms of rhino horn in May last year. He was reportedly released on $30,000 bail.
“Rhino horn is one of the means for the North to earn foreign currency amid the international sanctions,” said Julian Redemeyer, a researcher at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. “These horns are selling at high prices in the illegal international market.”
He also called North Korea “a criminal state” because the government orders the diplomats to get involved in the illegal trade of elephant tusks and rhino horns.