Despite ban, North Korea's global AI collaborations grow

North Korea has taken steps to strengthen its AI capabilities and participate in related research around the world despite an international ban on scientific collaboration with the regime, a U.S.-based think tank said Wednesday.

Kim Il Sung University, the North's most prestigious institution of higher education. [DAVID STANLEY]

North Korea has taken steps to strengthen its AI capabilities and participate in related research around the world despite an international ban on scientific collaboration with the regime, a U.S.-based think tank said Wednesday.

In a report titled “North Korea’s International Network for Artificial Intelligence Research” that was published by 38 North, Kim Hyuk said that efforts by the isolated regime to develop its AI capabilities not only include “reforming legal and institutional frameworks and promoting specialized AI education programs within academia,” but also continued engagement in collaborative AI research with foreign universities and individuals.

According to Kim, North Korean academics collaborated with peers from institutions in at least 12 countries across Asia, Europe, Africa and America, including China, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Lithuania, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Uganda, Canada and the United States, in AI-related publications.

Kim noted that individuals from South Korean and U.S. universities have collaborated with North Korea on AI and related subjects despite United Nations Security Council Resolution 2321, which prohibits scientific and technical cooperation with North Korea.

He also observed that several Chinese universities that have collaborated with North Korea on AI research are currently on the US trade deny list called the Entity List due to their links with the Chinese military.

Although the analyst noted that there is “no indication” that North Korea’s international AI collaborations have led to direct military applications, he cautioned, “It remains critical to closely monitor these partnerships since technical know-how and tacit knowledge gained through these collaborations could potentially be diverted toward military AI development.”

Kim also noted that the low volume of publications from North Korea indicates that the country likely lags behind in academic research compared to other leading countries, such as China and the United States.

From 2017 to 2023, the North published 161 publications, while China and the United States published approximately 860,000 and 511,000 articles, according to open-source data compiled by Kim.

But even though the North’s research output in the AI sector remains among the lowest in the world, Kim cautioned that the figure possibly understates the country’s actual capabilities as open-source publication data does not include articles from North Korean domestic journals like Information Science and the Journal of Kim Il Sung University.

Kim also noted that North Korea’s persistence in pursuing academic partnerships with China, given China’s leading position in the field, could influence the country's AI capabilities.

The analyst also noted that North Korean research on AI between 2017 and 2023 spanned various industries, applications and academic fields and that relevant AI techniques were applied to textiles, robotics, telecommunications, aerospace and cybersecurity sectors.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]