Posted on 12/26/2006 5:05:01 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
N. Korea sells gold to earn currency
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Since the United States imposed financial sanctions against North Korea in September last year, Pyongyang started selling bullion on the international market as an alternative way to acquire foreign currencies, it was learned Monday.
Last September, the U.S. government froze North Korea-related accounts at Macao-based Banco Delta Asia. Since then, Pyongyang reentered the London Bullion Market and has exported bullion worth about 28 million dollars, or 3.3 billion yen, to Thailand, sources said.
In addition to Banco Delta Asia, many North Korea-related accounts at other banks have been frozen, and Pyongyang now actively engages in the gold business to gain foreign currencies, the sources said.
Choson Central Bank, North Korea's central bank, which is authorized to issue currency, was relisted in the Good Delivery for the London Bullion Market on May 12. The Good Delivery is a list of countries and companies trading on the market. After examining the quality of gold, it lists countries and companies and is said to be one of most credible lists in gold trading.
The central bank once joined the London gold market in 1976. However, as it was determined not to have made any trades on the market, the bank was removed from the list in June 2004.
A spokesman for the market told The Yomiuri Shimbun that Choson Central Bank made the reentry, but did not disclose its trading volume.
According to the sources, North Korea exported 500 kilograms of bullion in April and 800 kilograms in May to Thailand, pocketing 28 million dollars in foreign currencies.
In the previous five years, Thailand never imported gold from North Korea.
In North Korea, Workers' Party of Korea's Office 39 reportedly handles the country's gold trade. Office 39 reportedly manages slush funds for North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. According to Britain's Financial Times, North Korea sold large amounts of bullion to Banco Delta Asia until last year.
According to the South Korean Unification Ministry, North Korea has estimated gold reserves of 1,000 tons to 2,000 tons. Japan has had no bullion trade with North Korea since 1992.
===
Ex-Kim aide details trade
Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
SEOUL--Hwang Jang Yop, former close aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il whod efected to South Korea in February 1997, said Office 39 of the Workers' Party o f Korea handles foreign currency trade for the country. "The North Korean economy can be divided into three categories: party economy, m ilitary economy and civilian economy. The party economy handles Kim Jong Il's p ersonal assets, and its real status is not clearly known," Hwang said in a r ecent interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun. Hwang said organizations and companies that trade in foreign currencies belong t o the party economy. He added Office 39 is tasked with earning foreign currencies in the party and i t has increased its power since Kim took power after the death of his father K im Il Sung in 1994. Hwang also said Kim Jong Il has secret funds in Switzerland, and if people fromN orth Korean companies enter Switzerland, they have to obtain approval from the p arty.
(Dec. 26, 2006)
Ping!
METH and heroin. They manufacture and grow them.
I knew that Afghanistan was deep in the Poppy but I didn't know about NK. At least something grows there. The pictures of the place seem so barren.
They were their main export items in addition to missiles.
I thought when those guys needed foreign currency they simply printed some....
You mean like American $100 bills?
Not fast enough. Their neighbors are now suspicious and check every dollar they hand out. Their super-notes are relegated to local currency with 70% of real dollar value.
It is a kind of funny that fake currency of a foreign country serves as the de facto domestic currency, displacing the local one.
Maybe Fools Gold for Drugs?
Earn currency? What? Are their counterfeiting machines broke down? http://sacredscoop.com
Fake viagra LOL!
Bump
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.