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Huawei has no plan to do business in N. Korea: exec

By Yonhap

Published : Dec. 20, 2019 - 15:52

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Huawei Technologies Co. has no plan to do business in North Korea, a company executive said Friday, emphasizing that the Chinese tech firm is fully committed to complying with international laws and regulations.

Karl Song Kai, Huawei's vice president who leads its corporate communications department, said the company has no business ties with North Korea and doesn't plan to start doing business there.

"We are not considering doing business in North Korea," Song said at a media event in Seoul. "Huawei is fully committed to complying with all laws and regulations in the countries we operate and that includes sanctions from the United States, the European Union and the United Nations."


(Yonhap) (Yonhap)

North Korea is dealing with economic sanctions by a number of countries and international bodies in regards to its nuclear weapons program.

Earlier this year, US media reported that Huawei, the world's leading telecommunications network equipment maker and mobile phone producer, has had a secret business relationship with North Korea.

They claimed that Huawei helped the communist nation to set up its wireless mobile system, which would be a violation of US export controls against the North.

But Song said such media reports are false, claiming that they are "fake news."

The Trump administration has imposed a ban on Huawei that prevents the Chinese firm from buying American-made parts, such as chips and software, amid its trade war with Beijing. The US has been calling Huawei a national security threat, claiming that the company can compromise the country's internet communications and steal sensitive information.

But Song believes Washington's move has nothing to do with national security.

"I think the US is pressuring Huawei because it is afraid of losing its power in technologies," he said. "In the digital society, trust and credibility matter and those things must be based on facts that can be verified."

Despite the US ban, Huawei reported that its global sales surged 24.4 percent on-year in the first nine months of 2019.

Song said the performance proves that the company's products are safe from security concerns.

"Network, cyber securities are matter of technological issues, and these things should be solved through technologies," he said.

"Our solid performance is based on our efforts to cooperate and achieve a win-win result with our customers." (Yonhap)