weighted score 8.3 · nine dimensions
Country Risk Profile
North Korea
Sourcing risk, regulatory exposure and sanctions intelligence for North Korea-origin supply chains.
Forced & child labour
9
State-imposed forced labour is systemic and institutionalised. Overseas worker programmes documented. No independent verification possible. Maximum risk score.
Worker rights & FOA
9
No ILO fundamental conventions ratified. No independent trade unions. All labour directed by state. Freedom of association does not exist.
OHS & audit transparency
9
No independent audit access. No international certification bodies operate. Zero transparency. Any compliance claims are unverifiable.
Food & product safety
7
No independent data on food safety standards. No international certification. Products that do exit (via sanctions evasion) carry no verifiable safety documentation.
Environmental & regulatory
5
Limited industrial output reduces environmental export risk. However, mining and heavy industry operate with no environmental oversight. Deforestation documented via satellite imagery.
Governance & anti-corruption
9
TI CPI 2025: 15/100. Single-party totalitarian state. No rule of law. No independent judiciary. No property rights. Heritage Economic Freedom Index 2025: 177/177 (dead last).
Tariff & preferential access
9
Comprehensive EU and UN sanctions prohibit virtually all trade. No preferential access. No legal import pathway for most product categories.
Non-tariff barriers
9
Total trade embargo under sanctions. Financial transaction restrictions. Vessel inspection requirements. No legal commercial relationship possible.
Supply chain traceability
9
No traceability infrastructure. No customs transparency. Indirect exposure via Chinese and Russian intermediaries is the primary risk vector for EU buyers.
Labour & Social Risk
Labour & Social Risk
- Forced labour risk
- State-imposed forced labour is systemic and institutionalised. Workers dispatched abroad under government-controlled programmes remit earnings directly to the state. Domestic forced labour in mining, construction, and agriculture is pervasive.
- Overseas workers
- DPRK overseas worker programmes have been documented in Russia, China, and several African and Middle Eastern countries. UN Security Council resolutions require repatriation of DPRK workers but enforcement is incomplete.
- ILO conventions
- North Korea has not ratified any of the eight ILO fundamental conventions. No independent trade unions exist. All labour is directed by the state through the Korean Workers' Party apparatus.
- Audit access
- No independent social audit is possible. No international audit body operates inside North Korea. Any claims of labour compliance verification from DPRK sources should be treated as unreliable.
EU Regulatory Exposure
EU Regulatory Exposure
- Sanctions regime
- Comprehensive EU sanctions under Council Decision (CFSP) 2016/849 prohibit virtually all trade with North Korea. Import and export bans cover minerals, metals, coal, textiles, seafood, and luxury goods. Financial transactions are severely restricted.
- GSP status
- North Korea has no EU preferential trade access. MFN tariffs are academic given the comprehensive sanctions regime — effectively no legal trade is possible in most product categories.
- EUDR exposure
- Not applicable in practice. Sanctions prohibit the relevant commodity trade. However, indirect exposure through Chinese or Russian intermediaries processing DPRK-origin raw materials remains a traceability concern.
- EU Forced Labour Regulation
- Regulation (EU) 2024/3015 applies from December 2027. Any goods with DPRK-origin content would face immediate prohibition under both sanctions and forced labour grounds.
Logistics & Supply Chain
Logistics & Supply Chain
- Primary export corridor
- Virtually no legitimate commercial shipping to EU. Historical trade routed through Nampo port → Yellow Sea → China transhipment or direct.
- Sanctions enforcement
- UN and EU sanctions require port state inspection of DPRK-flagged or DPRK-linked vessels. Ship-to-ship transfers documented as sanctions evasion method.
- Indirect exposure
- Primary risk for EU buyers is indirect — DPRK-origin materials (coal, textiles, seafood) entering Chinese or Russian supply chains and being re-exported without origin disclosure.
- Traceability
- No supply chain traceability infrastructure exists. No customs data is independently verifiable. Any commercial documentation from DPRK sources is unreliable.