Over the years, dozens of North Korean proliferation networks have been active in China, and many of Pyongyang’s most important procurement agents still appear to be operating across the country. 

These agents form the vanguard of North Korea’s clandestine efforts to build and field nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, procuring materials and technology that cannot be built or sourced in the country.

Yet China’s ongoing role as an apparent safe haven for many of these networks stands in stark contrast to Beijing’s own commitments to prevent its neighbor from acquiring, developing