In a recent revelation that has left the animation industry astounded, North Korean animators appear to have participated in producing works for U.S. and Japanese studios – without the companies’ knowledge. The story surfaced when files on a cloud storage server located in North Korea became viewable to anyone without a password due to a configuration error.
According to 38 North, a Washington-based program dedicated to analyzing events in and around North Korea, a cyber detective from Boston who explores North Korean sites as a hobby, Nick Roy, found unpublished draft sketches and videos that closely resembled projects from popular U.S. and Japanese cartoons on the unsecured server in December last year.
THE ANIMATED SERIES INVOLVED
Even though it is common for US-based studios to outsource significant portions of their animation projects abroad due to lower production costs, the discovery of North Korean animators contributing to mainstream U.S. and Japanese animated series raises questions about the oversight, international sanctions and the complexities of global collaboration. In particular, the North’s animation industry is known to be a primary source of propaganda and a means of earning foreign currency, which in turn helps fund its weapons and missiles programs.
Investigations revealed that Chinese or other Asian subcontracted companies might have outsourced work to North Korean firms in China. The server logs showed IP addresses in China, including two registered in North Korea’s bordering Chinese province, Liaoning, which is an area known for having North Korean-operated businesses. From there, North Korean animators would begin working on the sketches before sending their work back to Pyongyang for completion.
It is suggested that the North Korean server contained sketches for an upcoming season of the Amazon original animated series “Invincible” and a similar superhero animated series set to air on HBO Max, “Iyanu: Child of Wonder.” Exposed files also included sketches from the BBC’s children’s cartoon series, “Octonauts,” which features a team of undersea anthropomorphic explorers that North Koreans may have helped shape. The documents showed a series of Chinese instructions that have been translated into Korean, calling for adjustments to the size and style of the animation. An editing sheet written in English with specifications for animation work was also found with “Invincible” printed atop. Many files found had notes that were translated from English to Chinese to Korean, suggesting they changed hands several times before ending up on North Korean servers.
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
Although the U.S. imposed sanctions prohibiting most trade with North Korea, making any collaboration with North Korean entities illegal, these animators have somehow managed to work on high-profile shows. The identity of the North Korean partner remains undisclosed, but suspicions point to Pyongyang-based April 26 Animation Studio, also known as SEK Studio, which has a history of producing North Korean animated films, including “Squirrel and Hedgehog.” Notably, SEK Studio was placed under sanctions by the U.S. Treasury Department back in 2021 for its connection to the illegal employment of North Korean illustrators in China.
The legal implications of U.S. studios employing North Koreans can be significant. First, companies could face heavy penalties and legal action in violation of state-imposed sanctions. Second, failure to conduct due diligence to vet their employees and subcontractors could also lead to legal repercussions, especially if they are found to have unknowingly employed North Korean animators. Third, contracts with North Korean entities may be unenforceable or void due to sanctions, thereby leading to disputes over payment, intellectual property or other contractual matters.
In response, the California-based production company behind Amazon Prime, Skybound Entertainment, began conducting an internal review and issued a post on social media, stating that it does not work “with North Korean companies, or any affiliated entities, and have no knowledge of any North Korean companies working on our animation.”
