Although North Korea is targeting economic self -sufficiency, it does not exclude the use of international trade, often illegal, to generate income (1, 2), including the legally protected indigenous fauna (3). In addition, in response to the economic and food crises of the country (4), a black market in wildlife products appeared which includes almost all species of native mammals weighing more than 500 g, including those protected by North Korean law and Annex I of the Convention on Internationaltrade in species in the process of disappearance of wild fauna and flora (CITES) (3, 5). The illegal trade jeopardizes North Korean biodiversity and threatens the recovery of metapopulations in these species through the Korean peninsula (6).
