The U.N. Panel of Experts on North Korea is investigating how a mortar made in the DPRK came to be used by the Somali insurgent group Al-Shabaab in a 2020 attack in Mogadishu. According to an unreleased panel report seen by NK Pro, the experts are joining the U.N. Panel of Experts on Somalia in trying to retrace how the weapon ended up being used against the U.N. compound with the goal of preventing future arms deals.

Bruce Bechtol, a professor of political science at Angelo State University and author of “North Korean Military Proliferation