Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 19 December, whether any UK funds or UK nationals provide specialised teaching and training of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea nationals in business and economic management entrepreneurship; and if so, what assessment they have made of the impact of such training on North Korea’s economy and, in particular, that country’s acquisition of illicit goods.

The UK, through our Embassy in Pyongyang, funded business and economic training in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) between 2013-2015, delivered by an international Non-Governmental Organisation. This training focused on providing ordinary North Koreans with the skills needed to run their own small businesses and to expose them to internationally accepted practices in economics and trade. These projects have been fully audited to ensure they meet the criteria for Foreign and Commonwealth Office funding. We are not aware of any UK funding or UK nationals providing teaching and training which could contribute to the DPRK's acquisition of illicit goods. The UK is not currently funding any such training activities.