Amazon Prime and Max Outsourced Animation Work To North Korea

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Companies did not even know they were outsourcing their animation work to North Korea.

In Short

Animators from North Korea were involved in the animation production for Amazon Prime Video and Max, without the companies’ knowledge.
SEK Studio, a renowned North Korean animation studio, was a big player in the global animation outsourcing market.
The involvement of North Korean studios in these projects is a violation of international sanctions.

Recent investigations found that animators from North Korea were involved in the animation production for the majority of Western media companies, specifically Amazon Prime Video and Max, without the companies knowing.

SEK Studio, established back in the 1950s, a renewed North Korean animation studio and a big player in the global animation outsourcing market, shows several foreign clients, their work includes major projects such as “Pocahontas” and “Lion King” as well as some other big animation projects.

A misconfigured North Korean Internet Cloud Server gave insights into outsourcing practices that involve SEK Studio from North Korea.

Documents further found that the North Korean studio was also involved in projects such as “Invincible” for Amazon Prime Video and “Iyanu: Child of Wonder” on Max after editing instructions were found.

The involvement of North Korean studios in these projects is a violation of international sanctions that prohibit economic ties with any of the entities in North Korea.

The U.S. government previously warned companies not to hire any North Korean IT workers, including animators, as the companies did not do due diligence while hiring workers from abroad.