What? North Korean government is the most totalitarian, brutal, ruthless state in the world today. You can't just play "there is no victim" card when you illegally help out an enemy government like that. Even if you're ideologically or for some other reason inclined to support NK, you need to understand that being a US citizen makes your actions extremely impactful on world stage. It seems like Virgil was truly in a position to help NK, which makes him responsible.
I think the punishment is not nearly enough. I believe the same thing should be done to people helping Russia evade sanctions too.
This argument would be more convincing if he provided material support to NK and didn’t simply relay publicly available information. It seems he’s been sanctioned primarily for his speech, not selling weapons or purchasing contraband. And it’s not like he was divulging state secrets.
Anyway, the conviction mostly makes sense to me. The sentencing seems disproportionate.
I think the punishment is not nearly enough. I believe the same thing should be done to people helping Russia evade sanctions too.