Publication

This article examines the possibility that North Korean ships may smuggle weapons of mass destruction (WMD). To this end, it describes the characteristics of North Korea's merchant fleet, which the author describes as small, unsafe and out of date. He then discusses WMD incidents involving North Korean shipping. He argues that these incidents are ambiguous since some ships have been engaged in legal weapons trade and some carried "dual-use" goods suitable for use in non-military applications. He concludes by outlining the policy implications of his analysis.