{"id":2106,"date":"2016-02-15T10:41:27","date_gmt":"2016-02-15T01:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang-2\/2016\/02\/report\/north-korea-china-economic-dependence\/"},"modified":"2018-08-24T18:21:32","modified_gmt":"2018-08-24T09:21:32","slug":"north-korea-china-economic-dependence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2016\/02\/news\/north-korea-china-economic-dependence\/","title":{"rendered":"N.Korean People lament, \u201cWe\u2019ll be done if Chinese enforce the sanctions\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

2016\/2\/5<\/p>\n

The international community is calling for further sanctions on North Korea following the recalcitrant state\u2019s fourth nuclear test, and plans to launch a satellite rocket in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Around 90% of North Korea\u2019s foreign trade is with China. How much influence does China have on the everyday life of ordinary North Koreans? We contacted our reporting partners in North Korea to find out.
(Kang Ji-won - Paek Chang-ryong- defector reporters)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The rice shown in the above picture is imported from China. When asked about the cost, the vendors reply in Chinese currency. (Taken by Asia Press on October 2013)<\/p><\/div>\n

Reporting partner \u201cA\u201d was sure that if China cut off support for North Korea, then the country would collapse.<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cAll the factories in our area are operated with Chinese investment and earnings are dependent on exporting to China.. Around 100 unmarried North Korean women were dispatched to China as workers, last October and November. These state laborers work in restaurants and they pay a portion of their wage to the state. I believe that the economic dependency of North Korea on China accounts for 80% of economic exchange. The economy in our area is, needless to say, relying on trade with China.<\/p>\n

\"Items<\/a>

Items such as toilet paper are sold at Moran market in central Pyongyang. All these are from China. (Taken by Koo Gwang-ho\/Asia Press on June 2011)<\/p><\/div>\n

Another reporting partner in the northern areas stressed the importance of China to North Korea as follows: \u201cChina is absolutely essential. Our country can\u2019t survive without her. Without Chinese products the markets can\u2019t be maintained, nor can trading companies earn foreign currency. If the customs office closed, we wouldn\u2019t be able to export our seafood. How can we survive without China?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"When<\/a>

When a buyer makes a purchase at this border town market, the vendor gives change in Chinese currency. (Taken by Asia Press on October 2013)<\/p><\/div>\n

Chinese RMB has become the main currency for transactions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Economic reliance on China is not limited to trade between the two countries.<\/p>\n

Our reporting partner researched a market in north Hamkyung province, reporting, \u201cAll industrial products and clothes are traded using Chinese currency. While the authorities want to crack down on the usage of foreign currency, it is difficult for them to push to hard as the Chinese currency has become the trading currency. People also use Chinese RMB to make bribes to officials.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another person our reporting partner spoke with suggested that Chinese sanctions would have little effect on the North Korean local economy due to the autonomous nature of the grassroots markets,<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people do not receive rations from the government anymore. They manage their lives by doing business. There would be no impact on the economy even if China decides to enforce economic sanctions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Kim Jong-un regime gave warning that the DPRK would launch a rocket at some point from February 8 to 25. If launched, the international community has already stated that UN sanctions will be strengthened.<\/p>\n

\"Rimjingang_banner001\"<\/a>*\u00a0Editor\u2019s notes on North Korean reporters<\/a>
<\/a>ALL REPORTS >>><\/a> <\/strong><\/span>
ARCHIVE(pdf) >><\/a><\/span>
DPRK MAP >><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2016\/2\/5 The international community is calling for further sanctions on North Korea following the recalcitrant state\u2019s \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[7,12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2106"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}