Free Republic

It has gathered its fortune through the tools of modern finance, but now Islamic State (ISIS) aims to mint its own coins. The move is reportedly the brainchild of the ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who has personally overseen the design of gold, silver and copper coins of the Islamic dinar to be used in his self-declared caliphate—as soon as the terror group can locate a mint and enough precious metals. ISIS released designs of the coins and a breakdown of denominations. It claims the currency will free Muslims from a financial order that has “enslaved and impoverished” them. But...

North Korean Diplomats 'Sell Millions of Dollars Worth of Drugs' North Korea sent a large amount of illegal drugs to its embassy in an East European country last December and ordered diplomats there to sell it for cash by early April, a diplomatic source here claims. "South Korean intelligence obtained the information from a North Korean agent who defected recently," the source said. "Similar orders were delivered to other North Korean embassies." North Korea has ordered each diplomat to raise US $300,000 to prove their loyalty and mark the birthday of nation founder Kim Il-sung on April 15. Each North...

While the highly "sophisticated" traders that make up the gold market continue to buy or sell the precious metal based on whether the Fed will or will not do the NEW QE tomorrow …, China continues to do one thing. Buy. … … Beijing continues to buy non-US gold, in the form of 68 tons in imports from Hong Kong in the month of June. The year to date total (6 months)? 383 tons. … Realistically, by now China, which hasn't provided an honest gold reserve holdings update to the IMF in years, most certainly has more gold than the...

N.Korean Dollar Earners 'Absconding' An increasing number of North Korean officials engaged in earning hard currency abroad have absconded with the dollars following financial sanctions against the North, observers say. "The North is suffering difficulties settling its overseas bank accounts as the financial sanctions continue," a senior South Korean government source said Thursday. "Many North Korean officials carry dollars in bags as stopgap solutions, but some of the dollars vanish in the process." Many North Korean officials abroad carry dollars in cash to strike deals, because it is difficult for them to settle bills the normal way. They earn the...

U.S. at Work on Strangling Kim Jong-il's Cash Flow The U.S. envoy charged with UN sanctions, Philip Goldberg, is still trying to block North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's cash flow, even as Washington has agreed to talks with Pyongyang aimed at persuading it to return to nuclear negotiations. North Korea invited U.S. North Korea envoy Stephen Bosworth on Aug. 4, when former U.S. president Bill Clinton was in Pyongyang to win the release of two American journalists. The same day, Goldberg was on his way to Moscow, where he met Russian Vice Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin and reportedly asked Russia...

N. Korea Cashes In on Mineral Riches By Blaine Harden and Ariana Eunjung Cha Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, February 24, 2008; Page A19 SEOUL -- North Korea's Kim Jong Il has a chronic cash-flow problem. In the 1990s, his Stalinist state nearly capsized -- and millions starved -- for want of subsidies from China and the defunct Soviet Union. Since then, despite arms dealing and the receipt of international aid in return for talking about abandoning nuclear weapons, North Korea has often gone without rice, fuel and medicine. In the past couple of years, though, Kim's government has quietly...

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...

/begin my translationDrug Sold Domestically For Kim Jong-il's Fund [Japanese Expert Analysis-Part II] S. Korean Government Agency Report On "Rising Drug Use of N. Koreans" [ 2005-04-12 18:38 ] N. Korean drug seized by Australian Special Units in 2003 A recent report prepared by a S. Korean government agency has the following headline:"Recently, the use of METH is suddenly rising at N. Korean border area. N. Korean authorities as well as Chinese is raising their concern." The report accurately analyzes why N. Korean drug market has gotten so big. Intense Competition Between State Security and Security Command There are two...

/begin my translation N. Korea: Drug Addiction On the Rapid Rise Last Year [Analysis By Lee Young-hwa] [Japanese Expert Analysis: Part I] Overseas sale blocked by PSI; outfits such as N. Korean security now resorting to domestic sale [ 2005-04-11 16:20 ] N. Korean spy ship sunk in Japanese water in Dec., 2002 <photo: Yonhap News> Recently, drug addicts in N. Korea are rapidly increasing. According to some experts, the  drug addction in some border area (with China)  is so widespread that it reminds them of waning days of Ching Dynasty(translator's note: late 19th century China.)N. Korea is the only country...