38 North: N. Korea may be using algae to work around international sanctions – CNBC

A recent note published on 38 North, a website focused on North Korea that's part of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, read that North Korea reportedly appears to be beefing up algae research facilities to strengthen its energy and food security in order to mitigate the negative effects of the international sanctions.

The note said: "It is not surprising that the North Korean government is developing thousands of rural open ponds producing algae and bigger and more sophisticated sites, whose purpose increasingly looks like algae production."