Leaked documents show Huawei helped North Korea build wireless network: report

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei secretly helped the North Korean government build and maintain a wireless network, The Washington Post reported Monday.

Internal documents obtained by the outlet show Huawei worked with Chinese state-owned firm Panda International Information Technology for at least eight years on a variety of projects.

The partnership reportedly makes it difficult to discern Huawei’s involvement in the projects.

{mosads}A former Huawei employee shared detailed spreadsheets, telling the Post that the information is of public interest. Others shared past work orders and contracts.

Taken together, the documents raise concern that Huawei, which has used American technology in its products, violated U.S. export controls to furnish equipment to North Korea.

The Commerce Department, which declined to comment to The Hill, has been investigating alleged links between Huawei and North Korea since 2016, according to the Post.

Huawei also did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Hill but told the Post it “has no business presence” in North Korea.

“Huawei is fully committed to comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the countries and regions where we operate, including all export control and sanction laws and regulations” of the United Nations, United States and European Union, the company told the Post.

Huawei was added to the Commerce Department’s entity list in May, though the agency granted a 90-day extension before it went into effect to give American companies time to adjust. Lawmakers and experts have raised concerns that Huawei’s connections to the Chinese government make it a national security threat.

Inclusion on the list is seen as a death sentence for Huawei, as it bans U.S. companies from doing business with the entity. 

The move was thrown into question when President Trump announced at the Group of 20 Summit in Japan last month that U.S. companies would be allowed to sell equipment to Huawei if there were no national security concerns involved.

The Justice Department has separately charged Huawei with violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran. The company has pleaded not guilty.

Updated at 10:05 a.m.