Tweet of the Day: North Korea’s Coal Exports Drop Dramatically
#NKorea's coal exports declined sharply in March 2017 – only 6,300 tons of US$570,000 value exported @YonhapNews https://t.co/vDzaKLxyrh
— CSIS Korea Chair (@CSISKoreaChair) May 5, 2017
#NKorea's coal exports declined sharply in March 2017 – only 6,300 tons of US$570,000 value exported @YonhapNews https://t.co/vDzaKLxyrh
— CSIS Korea Chair (@CSISKoreaChair) May 5, 2017
I’m still skeptical about this … there are all kinds of shenanigans happening in the shipping industry Cargo manifests get changed to show different amounts, content type, country of origin, etc. They also like to ship to smaller ports where the customs isn’t as strict (read: it’s easier to bribe customs officials). And then there’s the trick where North Korea ships something to Hong Kong or some other country first, and then after docking for a day, the ship heads to a mainland China port — but it’s no longer a North Korean shipment, it’s a Hong Kong shipment.
There are all kinds of shady transactions happening out there and North Korea takes full advantage of them.