SYDNEY (AP) — A South Korean-born Sydney man was charged Sunday with acting as an economic agent for North Korea in Australia by allegedly attempting to broker sales worth tens of millions of dollars for Pyongyang that included components used in ballistic missiles. 
 
 The Australian Federal Police said 59-year-old naturalized Australian Chan Han Choi used encrypted communication to broker sales and discuss the supply of weapons of mass destruction. His actions contravened both United Nations and Australian sanctions against North Korea, police said. 
 
 Police said the man was acting to generate income for Pyongyang by arranging the sale of computer software used for guiding ballistic missiles as well as expertise from North Korea to other "international entities." Police didn't elaborate. 
 
 Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he had been briefed by AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin on the "very, very serious matter" and warned anyone thinking of assisting North Korea that "the AFP will find you." 
 
 "North Korea is a dangerous, reckless, criminal regime threatening the peace of the region," Turnbull said. "It supports itself by breaching U.N. sanctions, not simply by selling commodities like coal and other goods, but also by selling weapons, by selling drugs, by engaging in cybercrime." 
 
 He added: "It is vitally important that all nations work relentlessly to enforce those sanctions because the more economic pressure that can be brought on North Korea, the sooner that regime will be brought to its senses." 
 
 Despite international sanctions, cash-strapped North Korea last month test-fired its most powerful missile that may be able to target the U.S. mainland. 
 
 Choi is facing six charges related to brokering the sale of missile componentry and expertise from North Korea to other international entities, and attempting to transfer coal from North Korea to entities in Indonesia and Vietnam. 
 
 Choi didn't appear or apply for bail in a Sydney court Sunday, and bail was formally refused. 
 
 Federal police Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan said the governments of Indonesia and Vietnam — or authorities in those countries — were not involved in the coal transfer attempt. 
 
 Choi is the first person charged under Australia's Weapons of Mass Destruction Act and could face a maximum 10-year prison sentence. 
 
 Gaughan said the charges related to his alleged activity over the past year, but that allegations dated back to 2008. 
 
 Choi was arrested Saturday and charged over two transactions that were unsuccessful. "But we estimate that if these trades were successful, we're talking tens of millions of dollars," Gaughan told reporters. 
 
 He said investigations were continuing and that more charges could be filed against Choi. 
 
 "The AFP are saying this man was a loyal agent of North Korea, believing he was acting to serve some high patriotic purpose," Gaughan said. 
 
 Police started investigating Choi after a tip-off from another international agency on another matter, he said. 
 
 "I know these charges sound alarming, but we are not suggesting that there are any weapons or missile componentry that came to Australian soil," he said. "We're alleging all of the activity occurred offshore." 
 
 Choi's activities also involved commodities including oil and gemstones. 
 
 "This is black market 101. It's the same with the coal and oil and gemstones — it's all about making money for North Korea," he said, adding the case was "like nothing we have ever seen on Australian soil." 
 
 "Any individual who attempts to fly in the face of sanctions cannot and will not go unnoticed in Australia," he said. ||||| Mr. Choi was a naturalized Australian citizen who had lived in the country for more than 30 years, the police said. They did not elaborate, but some Australian news media reports said he was born in South Korea. 
 
 “We think he’s acting as an economic agent on behalf of North Korea,” Mr. Gaughan said at a news conference. “He’s doing it out of a patriotic purpose. I think at the end of the day, he’d sell whatever he could to make money back for the North Korean government.” 
 
 Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Sign Up for the Morning Briefing What you need to know to start your day in Australia, delivered to your inbox. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. 
 
 The police said evidence suggested that Mr. Choi had been in “contact with high-ranking officials in North Korea” but would not comment further. 
 
 Mr. Choi was also charged with attempting to sell North Korean coal in countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam, the police said, adding that there was no evidence of involvement by those countries’ governments or officials. Such sales would violate international sanctions aimed at cutting off North Korea from the global economy. 
 
 The investigation started this year after the police received information from a foreign law enforcement partner about a different matter. 
 
 After months of “careful and methodical” investigation, the police said, they uncovered evidence that led them to believe that Mr. Choi was working to generate income for the North Korean government from abroad as recently as this year. 
 
 If he is found guilty, Mr. Choi could face up to 10 years in prison. 
 
 “He seems to be a fellow traveler willing to take the risk to try and exploit whatever loopholes exist with surveillance and sanctions,” said Euan Graham, the director of the international security program at the Lowy Institute. “It means the North Koreans are still trying to access whatever componentry they can, even in a high-risk country like Australia.” 
 
 Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
 
 For years, North Korea has found ways to skirt sanctions to obtain technology and earn hard currency by selling not just weapons but also counterfeit money and drugs. 
 
 North Korea no longer has an embassy in Australia in part because of one such moneymaking mission gone wrong: In 2003, the Pong Su, a North Korean cargo ship that ran aground on an Australian beach, was found to be filled with about 275 pounds of heroin. The crew was arrested and later deported, and the North Korean embassy closed five years later. 
 
 When North Korea asked for it to be reopened in 2013, Australia refused. 
 
 Mr. Gaughan, the police official, called Mr. Choi’s arrest a sign of Australia’s commitment to upholding international sanctions on North Korea. 
 
 “This investigation shows that the United Nations and Australian sanctions will be rigorously enforced in Australia,” he said.
– Australia on Saturday arrested one of its own citizens and charged him with acting as an economic agent on behalf of North Korea in attempting to sell the Hermit Kingdom's missile technology, reports the New York Times. South Korean-born Chan Han Choi, 59, was "discussing the supply of weapons of mass destruction" with unnamed "international entities," said an official with the Australian Federal Police. Among missile components he was allegedly trying to sell on behalf of Pyongyang was guiding software for ballistic missiles, as well as what the Times calls "unspecified North Korean military expertise." Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull called the arrest a "very, very serious matter" on behalf of a "dangerous, reckless, criminal regime," reports the AP, and said that for anyone with similar intentions, "the AFP will find you." Choi's alleged actions are in violation of Australian and United Nations sanctions against North Korea; he faces six charges that also include trying to sell coal to parties in Indonesia and Vietnam. He's the first person charged under Australia's Weapons of Mass Destruction Act, and could face 10 years in prison, notes the AP. Police say the charges relate to activities over the past year, but that Choi has been active dating back to 2008. Two unsuccessful transactions Choi attempted would have been worth "tens of millions of dollars" for North Korea, says the AFP official. Adds Turnbull, "it is vitally important that all nations work relentlessly to enforce those sanctions because the more economic pressure that can be brought on North Korea, the sooner that regime will be brought to its senses."