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.
| If I had a choice of spending my freshly stolen filthy lucre in either Tuscany or North Korea, I think I'd go with Tuscany. But that's just me ... |
"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,
| But how many of those dollars ought to have been marked "Made in North Korea"? Their loss is not as costly as the disappearance of the American-made stuff. |
because it is difficult for them to settle bills the normal way. They earn the money from arms deals or through bogus companies. But some of them abscond with the cash.
The source added many North Korean arms deals have been uncovered in recent days in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions sanctioning the North.
| Or possibly because the most recent WikiLeaks document dump made it impossible to pretend not to see, for those who had been willfully blind. |
"Some people may doubt the effectiveness of the UN sanctions, but in fact they're causing the North a great deal of pain," another South Korean government official said. "That's why the North is trying to attract the international community's attention with provocations like the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island." |