{"id":3414,"date":"2018-05-14T18:24:58","date_gmt":"2018-05-14T09:24:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang-2\/2018\/05\/report\/export-to-china-89\/"},"modified":"2018-08-24T18:20:46","modified_gmt":"2018-08-24T09:20:46","slug":"export-to-china-89","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2018\/05\/society-economy\/export-to-china-89\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cInside N.Korea\uff1eMarch Exports to China Plummets by 89%. Manager of Trading Company says \u201cHigh ranks having really hard time.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

(Reference Photo) An exhausted looking woman takes a rest during forced farm work. Taken by \u2018Mindulle,\u2019 at Yanggang Province in June, 2013. (ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25c6Manager of Trading Company says \u201cHigh ranks having really hard time.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to figures released by the China Customs Office, exports to China from North Korea in March of this year totaled U$12,278,000, a 89.19% decrease compared to the same time last year.<\/p>\n

Some 90% of North Korean trade goes to China. It is clear that the recent UN-led economic sanctions have severely affected North Korea\u2019s foreign currency earnings. Exports to China have decreased by 95% for February, according to the same figures. Imports also showed a 56.43% drop to USD142,929,000. In total, trading decreased to USD155,307,000, representing a 64.9% drop from a year before.<\/p>\n

ASIAPRESS spoke with an official in a North Korean trading organization in China about the effects of declining trade across the Sino-Korean border.<\/p>\n

-How is business?
\n<\/strong>\u201cIt isn\u2019t going well. The Chinese authorities (Customs Office) are with holding permission to trade, even after submitting the required documents. It\u2019s hard to renew visas for resident employees as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

-There\u2019s a rumor that the sanctions may be lifted after the meeting between Kim Jong-un and Xi Jin ping (March 26).<\/strong>
\n\u201cThat\u2019s just a rumor. Nothing has changed. Trading for metal and coal is still strictly prohibited. Our Chinese partners don\u2019t accept offers to send workers, or for foundry contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n

-How is the domestic situation?<\/strong>
\n\u201cIt is serious, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n

-Is the life of ordinary people getting harder?<\/strong>
\n\u201cNo. The ordinary people have survived even in hard times by doing business by whatever means they can. It\u2019s the high ranks that are the hardest hit.\u201d<\/p>\n

-How about the privileged and the high-ranking officials?<\/strong>
\n\u201cMost of the money they spend comes from the trading interests. The disappearance of that money is making some of these officials panicked. If the authorities can\u2019t solve the economic problem soon, the escalating frustration of the higher ranks could lead to a bigger problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

The call to the official of the trading company was made on April 27, just before the summit between Kim and Xi. There was no detailed explanation on the difficult situation of North Korea, but the tone of the official indicated concerns with the declining situation. He explained further that, even if the North Korean trading company suggests smuggling to its Chinese partner, only a small quantity of Chinese medicinal herbs, red bean, and seafood could be exchanged because of the Chinese crack down.<\/p>\n

Next Page : Employees of large trading firm peddling goods in villages...<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25c6Employees of large trading firm peddling goods in villages<\/strong><\/p>\n

Declining export shave impacted on both the lives of company employees and the management. As major export items, like coal, metal, seafood, and the outsourcing of textiles are still under sanctions, companies are working hard to explore new items they can trade with, but progress seems negligible. The ASIAPRESS reporting partners delivered news from their locations.<\/p>\n

\u201cItems of export to China are limited to outsourced wigs, eyelashes, and caps. Chinese herbs are also purchased from the locals. (mid-April, Reporting Partner in Yanggang Province)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe branch, or the subsidiary of powerful organizations like Kangsung Trading Company or Moran Company have almost shut up shop entirely. As the companies are supplying neither wages nor food, employees are peddling Chinese made home appliances, miscellaneous goods and blankets around suburban areas. It is said that they would be out of business if they couldn\u2019t pay the minimum of allocation, RMB1,500\/month to the company.\u201d (mid-April, Reporting Partner in North Hamkyung Province)<\/p>\n

Importing the necessary materials is getting harder because of the sharp drop in exports. For example, chemical fertilizers for sowing and rice planting are hard to find when they are needed most during planting season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Yanggang Province, \u2018Chonji Company\u2019 used to exclusively import the fertilizer from China by bartering ore. But as such exports are now on a banned list, cash is the only mode of exchange for purchasing fertilizer. It\u2019s hard for companies to prepare enough cash. So, other trading companies have been ordered to import fertilizers, too.\u201d (mid-April, Reporting Partner in Yanggang Province)<\/p>\n

Rumors are circulating among residents in the northern provinces of North Korea that the sudden visit to China by Kim Jong-un in March was to ask President Xi Jin ping for relief from the sanctions. (ISHIMARU Jiro)<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Editor\u2019s notes on North Korean reporters<\/a>
\n<\/a>ALL REPORTS >>><\/span><\/a> <\/strong>
\nARCHIVE(pdf) >><\/a>
\nDPRK MAP >><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u25c6Manager of Trading Company says \u201cHigh ranks having really hard time.\u201d According to figures released by the China Custom\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3491,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3414"}],"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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}