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Front company run by intelligence agents

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UN report says North Korea running military hardware operation out of M'sia

In Kuala Lumpur's "Little India" neighbourhood, behind an unmarked door on the second floor of a rundown building, is where a military equipment company called Glocom says it has its office.

Glocom is a front company run by North Korean intelligence agents that sells battlefield radio equipment in violation of United Nations sanctions, according to a UN report drafted for the Security Council and seen by Reuters.

Reuters found that Glocom advertises over 30 radio systems for "military and paramilitary" organisations on its Malaysian website, glocom.com.my.

Glocom's website, which was taken down late last year, listed the Little India address in its contacts section.

No one answers the door there and the mailbox outside is stuffed with unopened letters.

INTERCEPTED

In fact, no company by that name exists in Malaysia.

But two Malaysian companies controlled by North Korean shareholders and directors registered Glocom's website in 2009, according to website and company registration documents.

The draft UN report says an air shipment of North Korean military communications equipment, sent from China and bound for Eritrea, was intercepted in an unnamed country last year.

Glocom is controlled by the Reconnaissance General Bureau, the North Korean intelligence agency tasked with overseas operations and weapons procurement, the report says, citing undisclosed information it obtained. - REUTERS

United NationsmalaysiaNorth Korea