A Spanish aristocrat who founded and manages a controversial pro-North Korea sympathizer group, the Korea Friendship Association (KFA), violated United Nations sanctions by facilitating a prohibited joint venture (J/V) operation in 2019, according to an unpublished U.N. Panel of Experts (PoE) report seen by NK News.

The claims mark the first time the U.N. has publicly named either the KFA or its founder and president, Alejandro Cao de Benos, for apparently breaking sanctions against North Korea — a move that may complicate Pyongyang’s relationship with one of its last remaining pillars of foreign support.