North Korean Economy Watch

According to the AFP (via Singapore’s Straits Times):

The Apple Daily reported on Thursday that prosecutors had begun investigating claims that Chen might have pocketed 300 million Taiwan dollars of financial aid in 2004 and 2005 in exchange for North Korea handling the island’s nuclear wastes.

The daily, which did not name its sources, alleged the cash would be given to a high-ranking North Korean official through a contact who promised to help Taipei set up a ‘direct communication channel’ with Mr Kim Jong-Il’s regime.

However, Taiwan did not establish any form of contact with North Korea nor send its nuclear waste to the communist state after the foreign ministry paid the money, the report said.

Self-ruled Taiwan is formally recognised by only 23 countries and does not have diplomatic ties with North Korea.

It is plausible that the DPRK would be interested in this business.  In June 2008, Michael Rank informed us about the DPRK’s efforts to recycle toxic waste as well. 

Read the full story here:
Funds were for N.Korea
AFP via Straits Times
1/8/2009

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 8th, 2009 at 10:03 am and is filed under International trade, Nuclear, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.