Although North Korea aims for economic self-sufficiency, it does not exclude the use of international, often illicit, trade to generate revenue (1, 2), including the trade of legally protected native wildlife (3). Furthermore, in response to the country’s economic and food crises (4), a black market in wildlife products has emerged that encompasses almost all native mammal species weighing more than 500 g, including those protected under North Korean law and Appendix I of the Convention on InternationalTrade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) (3, 5). Illegal trade imperils North Korean biodiversity and threatens the recovery of metapopulations in these species across the Korean Peninsula (6).
