Comments on: South Korea continues imports of DPRK coal http://www.nkeconwatch.com/2008/04/14/south-korea-continues-imports-of-dprk-coal/ News and analysis of the North Korean economy Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:11:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: Werner Koidl http://www.nkeconwatch.com/2008/04/14/south-korea-continues-imports-of-dprk-coal/#comment-53392 Werner Koidl Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:58:51 +0000 http://www.nkeconwatch.com/2008/04/14/south-korea-continues-imports-of-dprk-coal/#comment-53392 Is the "coal" in the yonhap report also charcoal briquettes ? Otherwise it could be anything between lignite and anthracite, quite different from charcoal ? Second, I was very sursprised to read that charcoal is NK's prime export item. To produce that much charcoal NK will have to cut large areas of forests. So, NK's food crisis, caused by floods due to deforestation, could be also be related to the North's need to earn foreign currency by producing and exporting charcoal ? Is the “coal” in the yonhap report also charcoal briquettes ? Otherwise it could be anything between lignite and anthracite, quite different from charcoal ?

Second, I was very sursprised to read that charcoal is NK’s prime export item. To produce that much charcoal NK will have to cut large areas of forests. So, NK’s food crisis, caused by floods due to deforestation, could be also be related to the North’s need to earn foreign currency by producing and exporting charcoal ?

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