Analysis How North Korea might be financing its trade deficit with ChinaPyongyang has a number of ways it could be cooking the books How, exactly, has North Korea managed to finance its bilateral trade deficit with China? The significance of this question can hardly be overstated. Is North Korea feeling the pinch of sanctions or has it figured out ways—perhaps involving tacit Chinese support—to adjust? And, if so, what are the implications for future nuclear negotiations? We hope to answer this question in three steps: we briefly review crucial changes in the sanctions regime, look at their effects on North Korea’s merchandise trade, and then review a series of hypotheses on the North Korean trade © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. |