The convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein said he was “very” interested in North Korean affairs and corresponded with political operatives interested in launching business ventures in Pyongyang, according to new files released by the Department of Justice.

The more than 3 million partially redacted files published on Friday, part of the department’s investigation into the disgraced New York financier who died in 2019, show that Epstein received several newsletters and links to news articles about developments in the DPRK.

In an email chain with then-New York Timesfinancial reporter Landon Thomas Jr., Epstein discussed the political pulse of the