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Hamish
Macdonald

Associate Fellow

Hamish Macdonald is a journalist and researcher who has focused uniquely on North Ko-rea related topics and affairs.

He was formerly the COO of the Korea Risk Group, which produces the NK News and NK Pro DPRK-related information platforms.

Specialising in this area, his investigations covered topics including North Korean sanc-tions evasion activities, domestic economic development and human rights.

Hamish graduated from the University of Sydney with a BA in Media and Communications, majoring in Government and International Relations.

Hamish
Macdonald
Associate Fellow

By This Author

"But a report published this month by the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think-tank, found that a network of 150 Chinese businesses had a central role in facilitating North Korean access to international markets. It said they were involved in about $2.7bn worth of shipments between 2014 and 2017, representing about 20 per cent of the $13.9bn value of North Korea’s trade during that period. "

Kim Jong Un’s dependence on China grows as virus hits economy

9 September 2020

Tags: Project Sandstone

Bridge across the river bordering North Korea and China

Project Sandstone Report 7: The Billion-Dollar Border Town: North Korea's Trade Networks in Dandong (Part 1)

4 September 2020

This report analyses North Korea's trade networks in Dandong and the role these have played in the country's ongoing attempts to evade...

Tags: China, Project Sandstone, North Korea, Other Publications

"A once-busy maritime coal smuggling route between North Korea and China has returned to pre-pandemic levels of activity, a joint investigation by NK Pro and the Royal United Services Institute’s (RUSI) Project Sandstone can reveal this week."

North Korean coal smuggling route to China rebounds to pre-COVID activity levels

17 July 2020

Tags: Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, North Korea, Pacific

"Analysts at the U.K.-based think tank Royal United Services Institute used ships' radio signals and satellite imagery to determine that North Korean-controlled cargo vessels have made at least 175 trips to the Chinese coastal city of Zhoushan, near Shanghai, since October last year"

After Losing Cargo Ship to U.S., North Korea Found Another in Vietnam

5 March 2020

Tags: Proliferation and Nuclear Policy

Project Sandstone Report 6: The Phantom Fleet: North Korea’s Smugglers in Chinese Waters

5 March 2020

A large fleet of North Korean cargo ships continues to deliver coal to China in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions, in what...

Tags: Project Sandstone, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, North Korea, Other Publications, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Pacific

Ship sails into horizon

Project Sandstone Report 5: Kaohsiung Cowboys: The Taiwanese Network Facilitating North Korea’s Illicit Activities

12 December 2019

This report provides a network analysis of North Korea's oil smuggling networks.

Tags: Project Sandstone, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, North Korea, Other Publications, Global Security Issues

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