The Mole: Undercover in North Korea

Ulrich Larsen is a Danish cook. He joins a friendship association with North Korea; his purpose is to get inside. For years he behaves as a loyal member, travels to Pyongyang and earns trust. One more person joins him: a man presenting himself as an arms dealer. The two take a proposal to North Korean officials: setting up trade in weapons and drugs around the sanctions. The talks proceed. Building a facility on an island is discussed and agreements are signed. Larsen films all of it with a hidden camera. Mads Brügger directs and appears in the film. It is a Danish based production with international partners. The filming was spread over ten years; Larsen kept his identity throughout. Among those seen is a figure known as the association's international representative. North Korea rejected the claims in the film and asserted the footage was fabricated. Its method was argued over; the use of hidden cameras and the identities created were criticised on grounds of journalistic ethics. The matter it treats is how sanctions are got around; the documentary aims to present that as record rather than assertion. Larsen's own life is part of the narrative; his family did not know about it for a long time. Its limit is verification; the narrative rests largely on the filming team's own recordings. Who it is for: anyone curious about investigative documentary and North Korea. Who it is not for: the method is contested, it runs long, and some claims are not independently verified.