Report: Huawei Allegedly Built North Korea's 3G Network

The Washington Post report may force the White House to reconsider relaxing trade restrictions on Huawei, which is currently blacklisted from sourcing components from US technology suppliers.

(Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Huawei is facing more trouble amid reports that it secretly helped build North Korea’s 3G network.

On Monday, The Washington Post documented how Huawei allegedly used a partner Chinese vendor, Panda International, to funnel Huawei’s networking equipment into North Korea as far back as 2008.

The reporting is based on internal documents supplied by a former Huawei employee and other unnamed sources, which appear to show shipments of the company’s technology to Koryolink, North Korea’s first commercial 3G provider. According to the Post, the operation continued until 2016, when both Huawei and Panda vacated their offices in Pyongyang as the US and the UN imposed stricter sanctions on North Korea.

The allegations may force the White House to reconsider relaxing restrictions on Huawei, which is currently blacklisted from sourcing components from US technology suppliers. In May, the Commerce Department placed Huawei on an “entity list” for allegedly violating US sanctions on Iran and acting against US interests.

Without the access to US components, the blacklisting has forced Huawei to temporarily halt new product launches. However, earlier this month, the Trump administration began to ease the trade restrictions on the company to help revive trade negotiations with China.

Huawei hasn’t exactly denied the Post’s report. In an email, the company merely said it has no business presence in North Korea. “Huawei is fully committed to comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the countries and regions where we operate, including all export control and sanction laws and regulations of the UN, US, and EU,” the company added.

According to the Post, the US Commerce Department has been investigating the alleged links between Huawei and North Korea since 2016, and the probe remains ongoing.