Posted on 03/09/2018 8:40:41 PM PST by doug from upland
Embedded deep beneath the country's mountainous zones are some 200 varieties of minerals, including gold, iron, copper, zinc, magnesite, limestone, tungsten, and graphite, Quartz reports.
Some of these stockpiles are among the largest in the world, and North Korea, a tiny and cash-strapped nation, frequently uses them to bring in additional revenue no matter the laws against doing so.
The total value of these minerals lies somewhere between $6 trillion and $10 trillion.
But the country is too poor to create the infrastructure needed to export the minerals at least in large enough quantities to make a dent in its overall wealth. Still reliant on China, South Korea, and Russia for its financial and energy needs, North Korea has only made small deals with neighboring countries.
Lloyd Vasey, founder of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, noted recently that North Korea's mining production has fallen by roughly 30% since the 1990s.
"There is a shortage of mining equipment," Vasey wrote, "and North Korea is unable to purchase new equipment due to its dire economic situation, the energy shortage, and the age and generally poor condition of the power grid."
In 2014, Russia mapped out the construction of a rail linewithin North Korean borders. Though it ultimately fell through, the plan was to entice North Korea with workable infrastructure in exchange for use of its mineral stockpile.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
The problem is that they don’t think like we do. I’ve worked with the South Koreans and the Japanese and I can tell what I want and they hear every word that I have said and not understand what I mean. For instance, I can send a “draft spreadsheet” marked “DRAFT” and tell them that it is full of errors, but look at it and tell me if this is the type of information that they need. Two days later, I get a pile of corrections, but nothing about if the information is what they want.
“Lose of face” is really a big deal. If I do something stupid, you’ll joke about it at the bar, we’ll laugh about it and life goes on. If a Korean does the same thing, it will cause real anguish and be a life changing event.
No one is dropping any, but if NK wanted to become a viable nation and join the rest of the world there will have to be an international effort to develop an infrastructure.
What do they have that the rest of the world wants/needs? This is what they have.
Any costs of re-unification cannot be carried by SK alone and there will be enormous costs.
All that was before Donald the Liberator.
God bless him
People with no experience in mining think you just hook up a hose to a mineral deposit and out comes money. To mine a trillion in ore and actually turn a profit requires hundreds of billions in expenditure and years of careful planning. It’s far from a hole in the ground filled with money just for the taking.
So they want peace so we can help them exploit their mineral wealth and then they will promptly tell us to go pound sand. They would use the ChiComs but they know that the Chinese would never go away or allow themselves to be taken advantage of.
This is actually starting to sound like Trump. Very forward thinking.
They can then turn a region of their Country to something like what Dubai has done
Why not?
Offer Fat Psychopath,his entire family and his 500 top aides/generals freedom from prosecution,safe passage to China and billions of dollars in exchange for dropping the nukes and *full* and *continuous* inspection.And once that happens *someone* will help them develop their resources.Maybe Japan...Europe...South Korea...Taiwan...China...or maybe us.
We get them or Russia gets them or Iran gets them or China gets them...?
The question is what is the dictator’s motive to reach out to the United States? I can tell you.
China would be willing to go in and just take them...war.
We know Vlad’s tactics...just take over the country by force.
Iran doesn’t quite have the strength and other internal concerns nullify them.
Trump agenda MAGA, those mineral resources are needed here. We would negotiate to get them vs. going to war to get them. All around it looks like a win-win-win.
The dictator looks like a hero to his people and keeps stability for his country vs. the Afghanistan tribal war factions. Something is motivating the dictator beyond what we can see...what is it?
The idiots probably thought they could capitalize on their natural resources by destroying civilization with nukes but they finally realized that there would be no one to buy their natural resources. Now they are seeking to con their way into our good graces before they pull the nuclear trigger. They’ll soon recognize the folly of that plan too. The only way they get help from us is to totally give up that con and submit to inspections, etc. Bet this ticks off the Democrap Party.
The fighting prowess you describe is dead.
Its been all about food and survival for decades.
Exactly. My neighbor is a mining engineer. He has been working on a very big gold mining project for 10 years. They will finally break ground next month. The costs to date are about $500 Million. Mostly in core drilling.
Okay, so there is the potential for a degree of prosperity in the North once the oppressive communist dictatorship is totally gone. Destroying the Kim Dynasty is still job one and the only way to a better life in the North.
That sounds like an opportunity for POTUS when he meets with Rocket Man.
China controls 95% of the world’s rare earth metals -— critical to our defense.
This is the point of capitalism. North Korea shouldn't have to buy anything. Free markets and capital formation would create the necessary ingredients to exploit whatever mineral resources that exist. Jobs, wealth, products, tax revenue... all of these would follow.
If there is that much money sitting around I don’t understand why china has not taken over control of NK.
That doesn’t sound good at all.
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.