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Will Chinese Crackdown Devastate Nork Economy?
China's massive crackdown on North Koreans who live and work there illegally could deal a hard blow to the North's feeble economy, some pundits say. They say it could make things very difficult for North Korean traders who smuggle Chinese goods across the border to sell back in the North. This in turn would hobble the grassroots market economy that is the only way for many North Koreans to sustain themselves under the cash-strapped regime. "Some 30 percent of the products sold in open-air markets in North Korea are believed to have been smuggled across the border," said a source. "The crackdown could lead to a shortage of supplies and thus cause prices to skyrocket." But some North Korea watchers believe the economic impact would not be that great. "Most of the smuggling is done between ethnic Chinese in North Korea and North Koreans living in China," said Kim Hee-tae, an activist working for human rights in the North. "These people can travel back and forth between China and North Korea legitimately and wont be heavily impacted by the crackdown." Products legally imported by regime-controlled companies account for more than half the goods sold in North Korean markets, and they are outside the purview of the crackdown. North Korea experts say the crackdown will lead to a greater number of North Koreans being sent overseas to work legally, who will end up putting more hard currency into the North's state coffers. "Depending on where they work and what jobs they have, North Koreans dispatched overseas make between US$200 to $1,000 a month," said the source. They get to keep only 10 to 20 percent while the regime takes the rest in party loyalty funds, tax, insurance and living expenses. "The workers who will be sent to China legally will probably have to do the same," the source added. Posted by: Steve White 2012-05-29 |
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