North Korea – Exporting Anything and Everything

According to the Korea Herald, ”North Korea is making desperate moves to attract foreign investment in a bid to escape the economic quagmire that was deepened by its recent currency redenomination and to make up for the lost income from arms exports after the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions in response to its second nuclear test in May last year.”

But apparently the North is still importing some arms – they just aren’t getting there.  We are all aware of the plane seized in Thailand but did you know about the shipment of “spare parts of a bulldozer” , which turned out to be components of a T-54/55 tank, bound for the Republic of the Congo and stopped and confiscated by South Africa last month?   For those who are keeping track – there are two Congos.  The other was once known as Zaire (Wiki) but is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has a long history with North Korea.  It might also be noted that this latter Congo was deemed the World Capital of Killing by New York Times.

But if the North isn’t exporting as many weapons – what is it exporting?

Alcohol

While describing it as a weapon or toxin may be stretching it – the North did export Pyongyang Soju to the United States but there were problems right from the start.  Joshua at One Free Korea noted that the early American importer was arrested in 2007.  Yet, despite this early set back, the alcohol was exported to the States but apparently found no market and has since failed.  According to The Choson Ilbo:

“There was some interest at first because people were curious, but the poor taste led to dwindling orders and we stopped imports a year ago.” [Quoting Tang Kap-jeung of importer Tang's Liquor Wholesales in Flushing, New York]  Customers in the U.S. enjoy South Korean soju, which is smoother and odorless, and nine out of 10 people said the North Korean variety was not to their taste, he added.

I am not quite sure it received the greatest reviews in Korea either.  Here are four men in Incheon drinking it.  Perhaps they might have better luck if they export Taedonggang beer to the United States.  At least the TV advertisement for it was interesting – it even got a response from the Marmot.

Cigarettes, Drugs, and Money

Naturally the other great evils have to be included.  This article by Yonhap News cites the United States State Deparment as saying that the North has stopped  state-sponsored drug trafficking, but continues to counterfeit brand cigarettes and remains a large source of phony U.S. currency.
 

“Press, industry and law enforcement reports of DPRK links to large-scale counterfeit cigarette trafficking in the North Korean Export Processing Zone at Rajin continue,” it said. “It is unclear the extent to which DPRK authorities are complicit in this illegal activity, although it is likely that they are aware of it, given the relatively high-profile media reports.”

The report cites examples of supernotes caught across the world in the previous years.

“Counterfeit $100 U.S. notes called supernotes continue to turn up in various countries, including in the United States,” it said. “There are reports, for example, of supernote seizures in San Fransisco and a very large supernote seizure in Busan, South Korea, during 2008 and 2009.”

Supernotes are uniquely associated with North Korea, the report said. “But it is not clear if recent seizures are notes which have been circulating for some time, or they are recently-counterfeited new notes.”

Computer Technology

The North may in the near future, provided someone is interested, start exporting their own Linux-based operating system.  Joseph L. Flatley covered that story for Engadget - complete with a picture of a penquin and North Korean women soldiers wearing short skirts and goose-stepping (that alone is worth the link).

Monuments

One very popular export is the construction of monuments.  Mr. Marmot was nice enough to mention the latest one in Senegal in one of the earlier Odds and Ends and “Nice to See N. Korea Exporting its Art“.  He also linked to this Choson Ilbo story which does have a nice picture but I prefer the Online Wall Street Journal article .

North Korea is mainly known for a totalitarian regime overseeing economic failure. But it has also produced a successful export business—building monuments to freedom and independence. The statues’ selling point: They are big, simple and cheap.

Over the past decade, Mansudae has built dozens of statues and monuments for cash-strapped African countries. Botswana cut the ribbon on a memorial to three tribal chiefs in 2005. Neighboring Namibia boasts a bronze of its founding president wielding an AK-47.

It seems almost ironic that the Senegalese monument had a work force of 150 North Koreans and only 50 Senegalese -d espite Senegal has an unemployment rate of 49%.  Equally amusing: the final preparations being completed with Krazy Glue and the original heads for the monument were Asian and had to be switched to African heads after Senegalese President Wade complained.

Rokdrop also posted about the Senegal Monuments .  Skyscrapercity had quite a few pictures that are well-worth looking at.

Paintings and Art

North Korea has also sought to make money by exporting paintings.  This CNN article relates that

“Many people chose to collect this art because North Korea is a country still closed to the outside world, although it is seeking to open up in the future,” Li said. “This makes North Korean artworks a good investment. Some artists have already passed away, making their work more unique and valuable.”

It also noted that “while contemporary North Korean art is typically laden with a heavy message, the artworks showcased in the 798 art district leaves out traces of politics or propaganda.”  Hmmm, they obviously aren’t selling the pictures that can be seen at this posting.

Dancing and Card Turning

North Korea is also trying to make some hard currency by exporting technology of another kind – arrirang-style performances. According to the Saigon Tiep Thi (newspaper), a group of North Koreans have arrived in Vietnam to help mark Hanoi’s 1,000th anniversary (October 10, 2010):

“This is the advance team that will make preparations for the various art performances, including card flipping to make images and words, as well as stage design, sound and lighting for the opening ceremony.”  Song Pyong-won, the head of the North Korean delegation added, “through this visit the delegation would gain a precise grasp of the basic material conditions in Vietnam, like human resources, so that the staged programme can be the most unique and best possible.”

Wildlife

I wanted to add the part of North Korea exporting plants and wild animals but unfortunately the donga Ilbo link keeps crashing my computer but, even though it is dated, I thought this article by James Card might be interesting, North Korea: Red in Tooth and Claw.

Lumberjacks and Manpower

This earlier posting gives some information about the North Korean lumberjacks in Russia.

Imports

While we may not know everything that North Korea is exporting, at least we know some of the things they are importing.  ROK drop as well as Kushibo have also lightly blogged about the imports.