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| China-Japan-Koreas | |
| N. Korea moving to import oil from Iran | |
| 2013-08-24 | |
Iran's oil minister admitted in April that talks were under way with North Korea on their mutual oil transactions and that the two countries were discussing relevant procedures. In talking to The Asahi Shimbun, a source knowledgeable about talks being held between Beijing and Pyongyang quoted North Korean officials as telling their Chinese counterparts around December that their country had agreed with Iran on the prospective oil imports. The North Korean officials were also quoted as saying they were hoping to build an oil refinery, and asking for Beijing's cooperation in the construction plan. Chinese officials visited North Korea from May through June to discuss details and prices of the equipment, the source added. Some of the construction materials have already been taken to the prospective refinery site outside Pyongyang, other sources said. One scholar of North Korean affairs said the reclusive country is believed to have relied on China for about 80 percent of its oil imports, although no data is available on how much oil Pyongyang has imported annually or from which countries it has done so. It did import oil from Iran in the past, including a period before the economic crisis in North Korea became serious in the 1990s, the scholar added. Although the country is pushing to build a new refinery, it has also called on a Mongolian company and other entities to invest in its existing oil refineries. The aging oil refineries in North Korea are believed to be in dilapidated condition. Offshore drilling is also being explored as an option, sources said. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 Possibly it's people(Slaves), the problem is that once away they'll understand what freedom really means. (Probably won't come back willingly) |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2013-08-24 21:16 |
| #1 What will/do the Norx use for payment? |
| Posted by: Dopey Sinatra 2013-08-24 16:43 |