N. Korea animators may have worked on mainstream cartoons

North Korean animators appear to have worked on upcoming Amazon and Max cartoons, without the knowledge of either Hollywood studio and in violation of sanctions against Pyongyang, a new report has found.

The respected North Korea tracking website 38 North found evidence that animators from the isolated country may have been outsourced by third parties to provide images for Amazon Prime Video series Invincible, and the Max streaming service’s superhero anime of Wonder.

Pyongyang is under international sanctions over its banned nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, and human rights abuses.

North Korea has a well-established animation industry, on which it has relied in the past for much-needed revenue. Its giant governmentrun cartoon producer, SEK Studio, was placed under US sanctions in 2021.

But 38 North earlier this year observed a North Korea-based internet cloud storage server onto which images related to multiple Western shows, instructions for animators, and feedback on their work, were uploaded daily.

“There is no evidence to suggest that the companies identified in the images had any knowledge that a part of their project had been subcontracted to North Korean animators,” said the report.

The evidence highlights “the difficulty in enforcing US sanctions in such a global industry” and “the need for US animation companies to be much better informed about all the companies that are involved in their projects,” it said.

Amazon Studios did not respond to a request for comment.

Max, the streaming service formerly called HBO Max and owned by Warner Bros Discovery, declined to comment.

A source familiar with the Iyanu project said that a South Korean animation studio had been hired to work on the anime, but was no longer involved, after suspicions emerged that it was outsourcing some of the work.

North Korea has long had a significant animated film industry. – AFP