A recent discovery of documents on a North Korean computer server suggests that North Korean illustrators and graphic designers may have worked on unreleased episodes of popular American cartoons for US animation studios as part of unknowingly outsourced projects. The trove of files includes sketches for shows like “Invincible” and “Iyanu: Child of Wonder,” owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. There is no evidence that the studios were aware of this outsourcing to North Korean workers, and the discovery raises concerns about controlling supply chains to avoid sanctions violations.
The files were discovered by Boston-based cyber-sleuth Nick Roy, who shared them with the Stimson Center. The documents include Chinese instructions translated into Korean for adjusting animation styles and sizes, as well as an editing sheet in English for work related to “Invincible.” The presence of multiple visits from Internet connections in northeast China suggests that workers in China may have been facilitating communication with North Korean counterparts on the animation projects.
Several US companies, including Skybound Entertainment and Lion Forge Entertainment, were mentioned in relation to the discovered files. Skybound denied contracting with Chinese or North Korean companies and stated they would investigate the matter further. Lion Forge Entertainment had contracted with a South Korea-based animation studio for work on “Iyanu,” but discovered unauthorized outsourcing to other South Korean companies last year, leading them to cut ties with the original studio.
The Stimson Center found no evidence that the American companies were aware of the outsourcing, as the editing comments on the files were in Chinese, suggesting that the contracting arrangements were several steps downstream from the major producers. North Korea has a history of using animation as propaganda and a source of revenue, and experts suspect that SEK Studio, a Pyongyang-based animation studio sanctioned by the US Treasury Department, may have been involved in the discovered work due to its capabilities.
Amid growing concerns over North Korean IT workers abroad bringing in hard currency for the regime, US officials and private experts have been raising awareness of the North Korean insider threat. The close relationship between North Korean IT workers and hackers poses a risk to companies hiring them, as evidenced by past cases of inadvertent payments to North Korean individuals. The discovery of the North Korean server hosting content from US animation studios has been reported to government agencies, including the FBI.
Independent researcher Nick Roy has been monitoring North Korean internet infrastructure for nearly a decade to help bridge the information gap about the country. He found that the North Korean internet has a very limited number of IP addresses compared to the US. North Korean comics and animation have been prominent in the country for decades, with recent advancements potentially coming from ripping off Western production companies. North Korean comics are sold in markets in China, providing revenue for the regime and showcasing the country’s technological capabilities in animation.
