China Aids North Korea in Evasion of International Sanctions Despite Publicly Backing Sanctions on Nuclear Program

Evidence points to Chinese launderers, brokers, and various businesses aiding North Korea's sanctions evasion, increasing Pyongyang's ability to fund and advance its nuclear program.

China has been allowing North Korean workers to find employment outside of North Korea, with many working in conditions likened to servitude, such as artists employed in a Beijing art gallery for long hours, creating propagandistic images of communist life.
Several Chinese entities, including middlemen and businesses, have been implicated in helping North Korea evade sanctions. They accomplish this through money laundering and providing dichotomous interactions, for example, shipping sanctioned North Korean goods to Chinese ports.
Chinese authorities have also been accused of aiding North Korean cybercriminals by laundering their stolen digital currency. North Korean hackers are estimated to have stolen more than $3 billion, money which is believed to have funded the country's growing missile and weapons program.
The evidence suggests a persistent effort by Chinese entities to undermine the sanctions against North Korea, with the complicit or at least negligent knowledge of the Chinese government.
This assistance to North Korea appears to be driven by China's desire to maintain North Korea as a buffer against U.S. influence in the region, despite reservations about the country's nuclear ambitions. Despite publicly affirming and agreeing to sanctions against North Korea, China has dismissed evidence of its sanctions evasion and neglected its commitment to uphold United Nations regulations.