A U.K. think tank says North Korea has been securing funds, including for developing nuclear weapons, via nonfinancial businesses to evade international sanctions. 

London-based Royal United Services Institute(RUSI) on Wednesday announced the result of its analysis of 87 cases of North Korean sanctions evasion and proliferation financing, which refers to financing for the purpose of manufacturing, acquiring, securing and developing weapons of mass destruction. 

The report said the regime has been utilizing the sales of precious metals and stones and overseas property investments with the help of experts such as lawyers and accountants.  

In some cases, the North was found to be making profits through a casino to “obfuscate the traceability of funds.” 

Sasha Erskine, the author of the report, told The Financial Times that current international sanctions on the North are focused on financial institutions such as banks and that the North is increasingly good at making use of regulatory blind spots.