Alejandro Cao de Benós

In 2020, an unpublished report by the UN Panel of Experts denounced Cao de Benós for violating UN sanctions by facilitating a joint venture between the DPRK and KFA. A federal arrest warrant was issued in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York on January 27, 2022, after he was charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). He is wanted by the FBI from January 2022 for working with an American citizen to illegally provide cryptocurrency and blockchain technology services to the DPRK.

In July 2016, Cao de Benós founded a bar called Pyongyang Cafe in Tarragona, which is decorated with North Korean propaganda posters and features regular talks on subjects such as tourism. The café closed to the public in March 2017 and became a members-only establishment for KFA members.

Cao de Benós has been the subject of widespread criticism from the Western press for, among other things, trying to restrict freedom of expression of journalists. He has expelled members of the "Association of Friendship with Korea" for "disrespect". He has also been accused of threatening and intimidating journalists critical of North Korea. Andrew Morse of ABC News visited North Korea in 2004, at the invitation of the Association. Morse was accused of using sensationalist language to describe North Korean collective farms. When asked about the incident, Cao de Benós said, "Mr. Morse broke almost every rule specified beforehand, including the DPRK law. So after several warnings that he completely ignored, appropriate measures were taken." The "appropriate measures" included unauthorized entry and search of journalist Morse's Pyongyang hotel room, including destruction of his laptop and recordings; Cao de Benós compelled Morse to write a letter of apology under duress, in exchange for being granted permission to leave the country.

Cao de Benós founded the Korea Friendship Association in 2000, purchasing and establishing his privately owned domain name which whilst claiming to be officially sanctioned is privately owned and registered in his name. All official government and ministerial sites of North Korea have the .kp domain and, given the WHOIS record for KFA's website points towards it being the personally owned domain of Cao de Benós, there is doubt about its claim to be the "official web page of DPR of Korea" and thus Cao de Benós's claims of his actual status in North Korea's hierarchy.

He is also the founder, president, and only salaried member of the Korean Friendship Association (KFA). He has been an advocate of North Korea since 1990. His Korean name, Cho Sun-il ("One Korea"), is self-given but not a legal name as he travels using his Spanish passport. He is an honorary member of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and the Korean People's Army. He has lived in Tarragona and Barcelona, working as an IT consultant. In April 2022, the US Department of Justice charged Cao de Benós "with conspiring to violate United States sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea."

Alejandro Cao de Benós de Les y Pérez (born 24 December 1974) is a Spanish political activist with close relations with North Korea. He is a Special Representative of the Foreign Ministry of North Korea. He is, according to himself, also the Special Delegate of North Korea's Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries. He is wanted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).