Zokwang Trading
| State-owned | |
| Industry | Import-export |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Headquarters | Zhuhai, China |
| Zokwang Trading | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 조광무역 |
|---|---|
| Hancha | 朝光貿易 |
| Revised Romanization | Jogwang Muyeok |
| McCune–Reischauer | Chogwang Muyŏk |
| Also spelt Chokwang, Jokwang, Zowkwang, or misspelt as Zok Wang | |
Zokwang Trading Company is a North Korean state-run import-export business based in Zhuhai, China. It is reportedly controlled by Room 39, a secret department of the government of North Korea.
Zokwang Trading are not on the official list of North Korean companies published by the DPRK portal site Naenara.
Zokwang Trading was founded in 1974 in Macau, then under Portuguese administration, soon after Portugal recognised North Korea, following the Carnation Revolution, in which a left-wing government came to power. It functioned as North Korea's de facto consulate in Macau, issuing documents and visas.
In a 2006 intelligence report, Zokwang was described as a local unit of a North Korean company called Daesung Chongguk, officially involved in the machinery and textiles trade and allegedly coordinating opium trafficking, which was using Macau "as a base to move counterfeit dollars and to try to procure components for its weapons systems".
North Korean government officials and other sources state that the company engages in legitimate business transactions, purchasing cigarettes, food, liquor, televisions, and luxury goods for shipment to Pyongyang, but police long had suspicions about Zokwang's activities. One of its officers, An Gun-ho, was identified as a senior counterintelligence officer of North Korea's Ministry of Political Security.
Pyongyang was also alleged to have used Macau as a base for planning the 1983 Rangoon bombing, an assassination attempt on South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan, in which 21 people were killed, but the vice-president of Zokwang Trading, Kim Chol Jun, denied allegations of espionage.
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Wikipedia