North Korea’s Trade Troubles Could Point to a Need for Cash<br />Steve Hanke said that My best guess is that North Korea is receiving trade credits<br />from those providing it with goods and services — that is to say, China,<br />North Korea bought $2 worth of goods from China in July for each $1 of sales to China,<br />as China has essentially halted purchases of North Korean coal since mid-February.<br />To avoid that, Chinese banks could simply lend extra money on easy terms to state-owned Chinese<br />enterprises, which in turn could keep selling goods to North Korea without demanding payment.<br />China has gone along with United Nations sanctions by importing less from North Korea, but<br />that has not had the intended effect of cutting North Korea’s ability to buy goods.<br />Elizabeth Rosenberg said that What the legislators do not know, and it’s a little scary, is what these restrictions would mean for China,<br />Huang Songping said that As neighbors, China and North Korea maintain normal trade,
