North Korean Economy Watch

I stole this from Wikipedia: 

SiliBank is a financial institution based in Shenyang, Liaoning, China, closely related to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The name “sili” means “true profit” in both Chinese and Korean.

In 2001 the bank began offering a limited electronic mail relay service to and from North Korea where Internet access with outside is limited. Along with Chesin.com, SiliBank appears to be one of only two e-mail gates to DPRK.

SiliBank maintains dedicated servers in Pyongyang and Shenyang, between which e-mail transmissions are exchanged once every 10 minutes (when the service commenced, this was hourly).

The fee for sending an e-mail to North Korea from abroad (as of May 10, 2003) costs 10 Eurocents per kilobyte for up to 40 kilobytes, and 0.2 Eurocents for each additional kilobyte in each e-mail transmission. The minimum charge per e-mail is 1 Euro. Customers must first pre-register with SiliBank with prepayment for estimated usage over a three-month period. SiliBank only allows e-mail relay between registered users of this service.

BBC
8/18/2006

The UN food agency says North Korea has agreed to accept emergency food aid in the wake of heavy flooding in July.

The decision is a reversal for Pyongyang, which said previously that it did not need international help and could manage by itself.

North Korea was hit by torrential rains and high winds last month.

Official media said the severe weather killed hundreds of people and left thousands homeless, as well as damaging large tracts of agricultural land.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement that it would supply 150 metric tons of food to feed 13,000 residents in South Phyongan province, 80km (50 miles) east of the capital.

North Korea also agreed on Thursday to send its Red Cross officials to meet counterparts in South Korea on Saturday to discuss food and reconstruction aid.

The moves come amid differing reports on the scale of the flood damage in the North.

North Korean news agency KCNA said that “hundreds” died, while a pro-Pyongyang Japan-based daily put the toll at 549.

One activist group in Seoul has suggested the number of casualties is well into the thousands, but aid officials have played this down.

North Korea is secretive about releasing details of accidents or natural disasters, making any confirmation of the extent of the flooding difficult.

But Pyongyang has cancelled a mass gymnastics display, called Arirang, which is a key source of income for the nation, to focus, it says, on recovering from the floods.

North Korea is already reliant on foreign donations to feed its people.

The WFP began working in the country in the mid 1990s, after about two million people died from famine.

From the New York Times:
8/17/2006

Floods Claim Huge Toll in North Korea, Group Says
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEOUL, South Korea- A South Korean aid group said Wednesday that 54,700 people were dead or missing after huge floods in North Korea last month and that as many as 2.5 million people had been left homeless.

The figure is by far the highest toll reported from floods that hit North Korea in mid-July.

The private aid agency Good Friends, based in Seoul, said it had “many sources” inside North Korea but did not say where it had obtained the information. The toll could not be independently confirmed because North Korea tightly controls the news media and information.

The aid group’s previous reports on activities inside North Korea have been confirmed by South Korean government sources, although some of its figures have been disputed.

North Korea’s official news media have reported that “hundreds” were killed by the floods, without giving specific numbers.

The Choson Sinbo, a newspaper published in Japan by a pro-North Korean association linked to the government, said this month that the floods had killed at least 549 people and that 295 more were missing.

Officials with South Korea’s Red Cross, the South Korean Unification Ministry, North Korea’s economic cooperation office in Beijing and other agencies could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Representatives of Good Friends refused to elaborate on their report, saying they feared their sources would face reprisals.

The group said the floods had destroyed more than 230 bridges and inundated hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland, further straining North Korea’s ability to feed its population. North Korea has relied on foreign food donations since the mid-1990’s, when famine caused by natural disasters and decades of mismanagement is believed to have killed up to two million people.

“Food prices are skyrocketing as food distribution has become nearly impossible” as a result of the floods, the aid group said.

The group also contended that North Korea, to curb possible unrest, prevented those left homeless by the floods from traveling.

A South Korean citizens’ group said last week that North Korea had requested help from South Korea to cope with the devastation from the floods.

From Yonhap:

Flood damage in N. Korea seems lesser than previously estimated:official
8/10/2006

Recent floods in impoverished North Korea resulted in a loss of large amounts of food, but the loss may not be as great as previously estimated by domestic and international relief agencies, a government official said Thursday.

The claim comes amid efforts by South Korea’s pro-unification and other civic organizations to put together large amounts of emergency relief aid for flood victims in the North.

International relief agencies working with the communist state, such as the World Food Program and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Crescent Societies, had previously estimated that some 30,000 hectares of farmland was either submerged or destroyed due to last month’s heavy rains in the North, leading to the loss of some 100,000 tons of food.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the government, too, depends on the reports, or estimates, by the international agencies to estimate damage in the North, but said a thorough analysis of the reports showed a significantly smaller loss of food than estimated.

“(The government) believes damage to 20,000 to 30,000 hectares of arable land in the North would lead to the loss of some 32,000 tons of crops,” the official said.

The official said the discrepancy comes because the international organizations assumed the worst.

“I believe the WFP’s estimate was based on an assumption that no crops would be produced from any of the affected farmland,” the official said.

“A close analysis and consultation with experts showed the North’s loss of food would come to about 30 percent of the WFP estimate,” the official added.

The new estimate, or claim, by the government is expected to affect the South’s expected decision on the size and composition of its assistance for the flood-hit North as the government continues to suspend its regular aid for the communist state.

Seoul suspended its humanitarian aid for the communist North, which includes rice and fertilizer, shortly after Pyongyang test-fired seven mid- and long-range missiles into the East Sea on July 5.

Officials at the Unification Ministry say the government is unlikely to remove or loosen its suspension of rice and fertilizer shipments to the North until the latter returns to international negotiations over its nuclear weapons program and announces resumption of its self-imposed moratorium on missile tests.

Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok, Seoul’s highest official on North Korea, held a meeting with the head of the country’s National Red Cross on Thursday to discuss a possible inclusion of food, mainly rice, in a Red Cross aid package for the North.

Ministry officials said the provision of rice, if made, would only be a one-time assistance to help relieve the suffering of flood victims and will not lead to a resumption of regular aid shipments.  

From the BBC:

North Korea flooding ‘kills 549′
8/7/2006

At least 549 people died and another 295 are still missing as a result of floods which struck North Korea last month, a pro-Pyongyang daily said.

ays of heavy rain caused flooding which North Korean media have already confirmed led to “hundreds” of deaths.

But the figures, from the Japan-based daily, are the most specific released so far on the extent of the disaster.

Last month, the UN food agency estimated that about 60,000 people had been left homeless by the flooding.

The Choson Shinbo newspaper is based in Japan and is run by a pro-North Korea association.

Over 7,000 homes were destroyed or damaged, the daily said, and almost 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) of farmland had been washed away.

“Recovery efforts are proceeding at rapid speed as relief supplies are being sent to the afflicted areas,” the daily said on its web site.

Secretive

In South Korea, opposition Grand National Party leader Kang Jae-sup urged that a fact-finding mission be sent to the North to determine the full extent of the damage there, Yonhap news agency reported.

One activists’ group has suggested that the number of dead or missing is as high as 10,000, but has not said where it obtained the information.

North Korea is secretive about releasing details of accidents or natural disasters, making any confirmation of the extent of the flooding difficult.

But Pyongyang has cancelled a mass gymnastics display, called Arirang, which is a key source of income for the nation, to focus, it says, on recovering from the floods.

North Korea has refused offers from international agencies to launch appeals on its behalf, but an official said last week that Pyongyang would accept aid from the South if it came with no strings attached.

South Korea has suspended food aid to the North because of concerns over deadlocked talks on its nuclear programme and Pyongyang’s recent missile tests.

From the Associated Press

Up to 10,000 casualties in North Korea flooding: aid group
8/2/2006

Up to 10,000 North Koreans are believed dead or missing in what Pyongyang’s official media is describing as the worst flooding in a century, a respected South Korean humanitarian group said.

“About 4,000 people are now listed as missing, and we expect the final toll of dead and missing to reach 10,000,” said the independent aid group Good Friends.

North Korea’s official media has so far admitted that hundreds of people were dead or missing after the country was battered by heavy rainfall for nearly two weeks from July 10.

Seoul-based Good Friends said the media was now terming the flooding as the worst to hit the impoverished country in a century.

From Yonhap:
8/4/2006

S. Korean drug companies to send medical aid to N. Korea

SEOUL– An association of South Korean drug companies said Friday that it will send medical supplies to flood-devastated North Korea.

Torrential rains pounded the communist country in mid-July, leaving hundreds of people killed or missing, according to United Nations and other international aid workers operating in the country. The floods also wiped out arable land that could lead to the loss of 100,000 tons of crops, they said.

From Joong Ang Daily:

With bipartisan nod, Seoul to fund NGO flood aid
8/5/2006

Prompted by bipartisan recommendations from political parties that the government should send medicines and emergency food to flood victims in the North, a government official said yesterday it will provide financial support upon request for humanitarian assistance projects by non-governmental groups.

“The Grand National and the Democratic Labor parties said [Thursday] that humanitarian aid programs should resume, and we welcome such a position,” Uri Party chairman Kim Geun-tae said yesterday. “Humanitarian aid to the North must not be blocked by politics.” He urged the government to resume its humanitarian aid to the North unconditionally.

After North Korea fired seven missiles and refused discussions about the launch with the South last month, Seoul withheld previously promised rice and fertilizer aid in protest.

A senior Unification Ministry official said yesterday that the government would participate in the provision of relief goods to help North Korean flood victims through non-governmental groups. The Roh Moo-hyun administration is seriously considering funding relief groups when they seek government help.

“We believe that civic groups will make their requests for help next week,” the official said. “Because it is an emergency relief program, the government will participate.”

The non-governmental groups’ aid package includes rice, and the government is expected to fund the food in the aid package. The Grand Nationals, however, said earlier that relief food to the North should not include rice.

While no accurate flood damage assessment in the North is available, the Food and Agricultural Organization said yesterday that torrential rains in July flooded about 5,000 hectares (19.3 square miles), or 2 percent of the farmland in North Korea, adding that the country, which was still recovering from years of famine, lost about 1,000 tons of corn and beans from the disaster.

A spokesman for an alliance of South Korean civic groups, the South Korean Committee for Implementation of the June 15 Joint Declaration, said its delegation may be able to get more accurate information about the flood damage by next week. Committee members will meet with their North Korean counterparts at the Mount Kumgang resort on Friday to discuss the canceled inter-Korean celebration of Liberation Day, the Aug. 15 anniversary of Japan’s surrender in 1945. The North called it off earlier this week, citing severe flood damage. At the meeting, the two sides are expected to talk about humanitarian aid for flood victims.

Meanwhile, the flood disaster in the North rang alarm bells in the South about the potential for an epidemic as the number of patients with malaria in the North reportedly increased after last month’s flooding. Earlier this month, a South Korean activist group, Good Friends, said that an increasing number of malaria patients have been found in Kaesong and Haeju in the North after the flood.

The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention said mosquitoes could fly from North Korea to South Korean regions near the Demilitarized Zone. According to the center’s data from January to June, 333 patients with malaria were reported to the center, up 47 percent from 226 patients in the same period last year. The western parts of the DMZ, Gimpo and Paju in Gyeonggi province and Ganghwa in Incheon, are likely to be infested by malaria mosquitoes, flying up to 18 kilometers from Kaesong, Jangpyong, and Tosan in North Korea, the center said.

From the Korea Times:

By Kim Sue-young

Torrential rain in North Korea last month destroyed 3,000 hectares of arable land and submerged 20,000 hectares, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

This year’s grain production will not be affected, however, when the inundated land dries, the organization predicted.

“The total area has been severely impacted and we calculated the total affected area is two percent of the total national crop area,” Cheng Fang, an Asian officer and economist in the Commodities and Trade Division at the FAO, said yesterday in an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA).

Damaged crops included corn and beans but the flood will not harm the rice harvest when the water dries, he added.

“The land totally washed away, that means almost all crops are lost, but for the submerged areas, some production can be recovered, like rice,” he said.

People are concerned about the North’s flood damage as it cancelled the “Arirang Festival,” mass games set to start next month, due to the flood.

In addition, “Good Friends,” a private aid group for the North estimated 30,000 hectares of farmland destroyed, equivalent to 100,000 tons of lost food production.

Alistair Henley, regional director of the International Red Cross, however, refuted the toll Wednesday in an interview with RFA saying North Korea is less damaged than China.

“We’re dealing at the same time with bad floods here in China where we’re talking about at least tens of millions of people being displaced,” he said. “The situation in North Korea is absolutely, in no way, anything like that.”

Fang also said that we cannot forecast the flood will lead to poor crop production because 90 percent of crops are still on the submerged ground.

“I believe the North can gather a good harvest depending on the coming months’ weather conditions,” he stressed.

From the Joong Ang Daily:

First flood aid leaves for North
August 04, 2006

South Korea’s first aid package to help North Korean flood victims left Incheon yesterday, a Seoul-based international relief organization said. The eight containers full of goods include 100 tons of flour, 37,500 packs of instant noodles and 2,660 candles.

The Join Together Society, a relief agency founded by the Buddhist civic group Jungto Society, plans to send three more shipments to North Korea. Yesterday’s package, worth 120 million won ($124,262), will arrive in the North’s Nampo Harbor today, the aid group said. The aid packages will be given to flood victims of South Pyongan province, where the damage was reportedly severe.

The second shipment will include $50,000 worth of medicine and other goods including blankets and dishes, the group said. The goods will be purchased in China and sent to the North by trucks. The third and fourth shipments will be food aid, to be shipped from Incheon to Nampo.

More non-governmental groups said yesterday they will initiate fundraising drives to support flood victims in both South and North Koreas. The South Korean Committee for Implementation of the June 15 Joint Declaration, an alliance of civic, social, religious and political groups, said its members will provide contributions from today till Tuesday to raise $100,000. The fundraising drive will expand to the public by the end of next month, and the money will be spent to help flood victims of both Koreas, the committee said.

A relief agency for North Korea under the National Unification Advisory Council also announced its plan to provide aid packages to support flood victims in the North. The organization said 50 million won worth of goods, including 300 hand carts, will depart Incheon on Wednesday for Nampo. Additional goods, including medicine, will be provided, and the group planned site surveys in North Korea at the end of this month to see if the victims need further assistance, the group said.

The United Nations and the Red Cross were conservative about the North’s suffering after the July floods. The United Nations estimated at least 154 North Korean deaths and 127 missing, while the Red Cross said 141 were killed and another 112 were missing. A South Korean civic group said earlier this week that up to 10,000 were missing or dead.

Meanwhile, international media reported yesterday that the North has refused aid offers from the World Food Program and Red Cross.

From the Korea Herald:
August 2, 2006

A South Korean civic group announced yesterday that it will send 130 million won ($138,000) worth of flood relief to North Korea tomorrow.

This is the first time that humanitarian aid is being sent to the North after it suffered heavy damage from the latest torrential downpours, the group said.

The Join Together Society said it shipped 100 tons of flour, 38,000 packs of instant noodles and living necessities such as clothes, shoes and candles.

JTS is a relief and development organization founded in 1994, and headed by well-known Buddhist monk Ven. Pomnyun.

The ship will leave Incheon tomorrow and will reach the North’s western port of Nampo tomorrow at the earliest, said the Seoul-based civic group.

The move came after the South Korean government stopped aid packages as the North test-fired seven missiles into the East Sea last month. However, civic groups here have urged Seoul to revive its humanitarian aid as food shortage problems in the North got worse in the aftermath of the massive downfall.

JTS said that the flood relief will be sent to an organization that helps North Koreans residing overseas. The goods will be used to relieve flood victims in the Yangduk county of Pyeongan Province, northwest of Pyeongyang, it added.

From the Daily NK:

“Regulation of People Due to Concern over Flooding”
Newspapers will not report the real conditions 

The North Korea support organization ‘Good Friends’ alleged that the aftereffects of the recent flood in North Korea seem more severe than the flood of the late 1990’s. However, North Korean authorities are attempting to regulate people so that the truth does not become public.

Good Friends recently reported that “Each town and province in North Korea is taking measures not to authorize travel certificates until further directions are given.”

The restrictions have not only suspended railway operations, but have affected flood victims as well. During the period of unrest due to the current quasi-war, these restrictions have been enacted in order to prohibit flood victims from spreading the news of damage as they go from place to place looking for food.

In addition, military bases in Yangduk, Maengsan, Shinyang, Yoduk and Gumkang were most severely affected. However, as the country remains in a state of tension, newspapers have not been reporting details of the damage, in an attempt to lessen feelings of anxiousness.

The newsletter also reported that North Korea does not seem to be taking any countermeasures against the flooding.

Following the flood in late July, many elderly citizens and children in areas of North Korea such as Kowon, Dancheon, and Wonsan have contracted diseases and more are dying everyday. As there is no medical support or preventative measures against such epidemics, the number of deaths continues to rise.

Moreover, as the North Korean regime has been thrust into a “situation of quasi-war”, it has neglected to support those in need.

Although action has been taken to begin reconstruction, there is little machinery and equipment, so people have resorted to manually rebuilding. In addition, as roads and railroads are disconnected it is difficult for emergency equipment to be delivered to disaster areas. Currency is also not circulating easily, and it is predicted that the cost of market supplies and the price of food will rise.

Good Friends reported that approximately 130,000~150,000 people have suffered damages due to the flood, and that at present, 4,000 people have been reported missing. The number of deaths and missing persons totals more than 10,000.

Red Cross In S. Korea Says North Rejects Aid
Washington Post
Kwang Tae Kim
Associated Press
Thursday, August 3, 2006; Page A18

SEOUL, Aug. 2 — The South Korean Red Cross said Wednesday that its North Korean counterpart had rejected an offer of aid for flood victims.

North Korea “expressed thanks for Seoul’s offer” but said “it will handle the recovery efforts from recent floods by itself,” a senior North Korean Red Cross official said, according to the South Korean Red Cross.

Floods caused by heavy rains in mid-July killed at least 154 North Koreans and left more than 127 missing, according to the United Nations. North Korea’s official media have said the disaster caused hundreds of deaths and cut off roads, bridges, railroads and communications.

However, the Good Friends group, a Seoul-based aid organization for North Korean refugees, said in a statement Wednesday that about 10,000 people were dead or missing and 1.5 million were left homeless by the floods.

The project coordinator for Good Friends, Lee Seung Yong, declined to identify sources for the information, but previous reports of activities in North Korea from the group have since been confirmed.

North Korea has relied on foreign donations of food since the 1990s, when natural disasters and decades of mismanagement led to the deaths of as many as 2 million people.

South Korea, a key provider of rice and fertilizer to the North, recently suspended aid shipments to protest the county’s refusal to discuss its missile launches in early July. The tests drew international condemnation and raised regional tensions.

North Korea protested the South’s decision and cut off government-level exchanges. But civilian-level exchanges remain intact, leading the North to seek civilian assistance from the South for flood victims while rejecting the offer of aid from the government-run Red Cross.

The South’s Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, which is composed of civic groups and ruling Uri Party members and is partly funded by the government, said it would send aid to the North by next weekend. It said the aid would probably be accepted but declined to give details.

JTS Korea, a private relief agency based in Seoul, also said Tuesday that it would ship emergency goods to the North. The agency’s spokeswoman, Hyun Hee Ryun, said North Korea had specified what kind of supplies it needed, suggesting that the aid would be accepted.

N. Korea declines aid from Red Cross after flooding
Korea Herald

North Korea, which was hit by torrential rain and flash floods last month, declined offers of aid from the International Red Cross and its South Korean branch, an official said.

“We asked the North Korean government what it would need in terms of relief aid to help in their efforts to recover after last month’s heavy rains,” said Kim Hyung-sup, a spokesman at South Korea’s National Red Cross. “North Korean authorities replied that while they appreciate the offer, they are able to manage on their own. I seriously doubt that.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross – to which the South Korean Red Cross belongs – also offered aid, which North Korea declined, Kim said.

Hundreds of people are dead or missing in North Korea after the rains, the country’s official Korean Central News Agency said on July 21. Floods last week also damaged farmland, tens of thousands of shelters and public buildings. Hundreds of roads, bridges and railways were destroyed, it said. South Korea was also hit and damages in the South are estimated at around 2 trillion won ($2.1 billion).

North Korea canceled two festivals this month, citing relief efforts. It postponed its Arirang Festival, featuring its mass games, as well as an annual festival with South Korea to mark their independence from Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II.

“The biggest problem for North Korea will be food shortages, especially in winter and next year, because most of its farmlands were flooded,” Kim said. “Water and medical supplies are likely to be in demand, either because of the wounded as well as concerns of infectious diseases that may spread in the aftermath of the rains.”

A South Korean civic group said Tuesday that it plans to provide emergency aid to North Koreans.

The Join Together Society, a humanitarian aid group in Seoul, said it will send eight TEUs filled with relief goods, including 100 tons of flour, to the North from Aug. 3-9. TEUs, or 20-foot equivalent units, are a measure of containerized cargo capacity.

It is the first time that a South Korean civic group is providing aid to the communist state since Seoul stopped all efforts in the wake of the North’s recent missile tests and its ongoing boycott of six-way nuclear talks.

North Korea has depended on outside aid since the 1990s. More than a million people have died from famine because of years of flooding, drought and economic mismanagement. One in three North Koreans is chronically malnourished and many are forced to scavenge for food, resorting to ferns, acorns, grass and seaweed.

International food aid for North Korea reached 1.08 million tons last year, the world’s second largest after Ethiopia’s 1.1 million tons, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. South Korea sent 394,000 tons of food aid to North Korea last year.

Daily NK:

It has been learned that serious damage has been incurred in North Korea due to heavy rain, which has also led to the cancellation of the Arirang festival.

Due to the heavy rain, hundreds of people have died, and 100,000 tons of food was lost. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that necessary food aid would amount to 830,000 tons between November 2006 to October 2007.

High production agruicultural areas such as Hwanghae and South Pyongan provinces have already complained about likely food shortages next year. North Korean traders from China said that, “due to the damage from the heavy rain, the whole country will face loses”. Many international organizations have voiced a desire to aid the North Korean people after learning of the flooding, keeping the missile conflict a separate issue.

Although international organizations, including the International Red Cross, have offered to aid the North Korean people, North Korea has refused the aid. The World Food Program (WFP) offered to provide 74 tons of food to the Yeungsan district of North Hwanghae province, but due to the WFP condition of monitoring distribution of the food aid, North Korea has refused to accept it.

It was also confirmed that North Korea refused aid offered by the International Red Cross offices in Europe and the U.S., and has not yet responded to an offer of aid made by the Korean National Red Cross. It seems unlikely that the North will accept the aid, as the government has firmly refused external aid, in order to keep the international community ignorant to the situation in the North.

If the North Korean government continues to take this attitude, the number of victims will no doubt increase, particularly as the international community increases the level of isolation against North Korea.

Last December, when the U.N. General Assembly passed the North Korean Human Rights Resolution, North Korea asked the U.N. office in North Korea to withdraw. During that time, when North Korea refused food aid from the WFP, it was criticized as using its people as hostages to pressure the international community.

The South Korean government officially took the stand that it would not aid North Korea. Although some people have said that ignoring the need for aid is a bad decision, others believe that sending aid when the North did not request it would only it would only invite misunderstanding.

If the government rushes to aid North Korea, it will be criticized for supporting the North, while leaving domestic flood sufferers to fend for themselves.

However, many people point out that even though they maintain an alliance against the North in regard to the missile conflict, the South Korean government should still offer humanitarian assistance. Cooperation through international organizations, such as the WFP, with monitoring of distrubution, could ensure that the North Korean people receive the aid that they need.

Nautilus Institute
Nathaniel Aden
August 2006

Paper here: Nautilus-Aden.pdf
web link here

Abstract:  China is North Korea’s largest international trading partner. Since 1995, energy and fuels have dominated bilateral trade between allies.  North Korea is a net importer of Chinese crude oil and oil products; however, it became a net exporter of electricity and coal to China in 2003.  Whereas North Korean coal and electricity exports are sold at sub-market “friendship prices,” Chinese coal and oil products have been sold to North Korea at premium prices.  Over the past ten years, North Korea’s imports have become increasingly energy-intensive, while exports have become more labor-intensive.  Chinese customs data suggest that Beijing is taking a pragmatic, market-oriented approach to trade with its reclusive neighbor, while the increasingly asymmetrical energy embodiment of bilateral trade may reflect dilapidation of North Korea’s non-military industries.

Bullet Points:
1.  In 2005, bilateral trade with the PRC accounted for 39% of North Korean international trade by value.

2. North Korean trade data are compiled by partner-country Customs Bureaus, the United Nations, and the Internaitonal Monetary fund (IMF).  China and South Korea provide the best “mirror” statistics.  Customs data do not include aid shipments, official development assistance, direct government transfers, foreign direct investment, services, remittances, barter trade, smuggling, illicit trade, trade in military equipment.

3.  The DPRK has spent an increasing amount of money on diminishing quantities of energy imports, particularly Chinese crude.  The decline of energy import volumes in the face of increasing overall imports and trade may reflect demand sensitivity to increased international market prices and/or North Korea’s lack of hard currency with which to purchase imported energy and fuels.

4. The DPRK has significant, ongoing refining capabilities.

5. Between 1985 and 2002, the DPRK domestic coal production has declined from 37.5 million tons to 21.9 million tons.  Nonetheless, North Korea increased its export quantity to 2% of total domestic production since 2002. 

6.  Starting in May 2005, North Korea has been an uninterrupted monthly electricity exporter.  Hydropower may account for much of the DPRKs surplus electric power.

7.  Energy prices reflect the pragmatic, market-oriented character of China’s economic relationship with North Korea.  North Korea may be providing China coal at subsidized prices, below those of China’s other trading partners.

8.  North Korea coal export prices show an awareness of market prices starting in 2002.

9.  The DPRK has consistently paid premium prices for Chinese oil product exports over the last ten years.

10. Aside from politically-determined prices, several conditions could explain this: 1.  Real factors (transport costs, demand, goegraphy) 2. Pyongyang’s insulation from market realities 3.  No DPRK leverage.

11. In 2005, North Korea imported $2omillion worht of trucks, $2 million worth of cars, $1 million of tractors.  The transport sector has not grown significantly since 1995.

12.  Shift of DPRK trade towards energy-intensive imports and labor-intensive exports suggests deterioration of non-military industry.

From the Eugene Bell Foundation: 

Public health officials from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) today visited Washington, DC to attend a private conference on tuberculosis. The five-person Korean delegation was invited by the Eugene Bell Foundation, an American faith-based organization that provides essential support to one-third of North Korea’s tuberculosis system.

The conference, hosted by the George Washington University graduate schools of medicine and public health, focused on including local communities in the global effort to fight multi-drug resistant tuberculosis.

The Korean delegation is scheduled to travel throughout the United States this week to visit tuberculosis experts, national centers and research labs.

For more information, please contact:
Alice Jean Suh
Washington Office Director, Eugene Bell Foundation 202-329-2410 alice@eugenebell.org