In response to the harsh international
sanctions imposed by the UN, which seek to curtail overseas remittances to the
North Korean government through financial institutions, North Korean traders
are reportedly relying on passenger trains from Beijing to Pyongyang to
transport cash across the border.
On the 29, Daily NK spoke with a Chinese
source with ties to North Korea, who said that because remittance of dollars
and other global currencies through financial institutions to North Korea has
been suspended, trading representatives have been covertly sending their cash
by train. As Chinese customs officials tend to implement a lower level of
scrutiny toward cargo coming in on passenger trains than they do for cargo that
is shipped, North Korean traders have realized that this course of action
carries the least risk.
“In order to circumvent customs
inspections, traders are stuffing suitcases and other luggage full of cash and
transporting it by passenger train. These traders are covering the cash with
aluminum foil, which apparently shields it from being detected by the security
wands used by officials when inspecting baggage. This has so far proven to be a
highly effective strategy,” the source explained.
Bulk cash transfers and large cash transactions between Chinese and North
Korean banks have been suspended as a part of the recent round of sanctions
imposed by the UN, and our source confirmed this to be the case on the ground.
In addition, the brakes have been put on the transfer of cash through customs
offices between Dandong and Sinuiju.
As a result, this behavior is most likely in response to the authorities’ detection efforts, as a secret
way to get around the restrictions.
The authorities are taking advantage of the
fact that luggage on individual passenger trains is not subject to the same
rigorous inspections as trading transactions are. They are continuing to use
this method with confidence.
North Korean government officials and diplomats
have been known to occasionally mail cash or carry it themselves as another way
to bypass sanctions, as exemplified by the recent detainment of two North
Koreans who were caught in possession of large dollar amounts in cash while
transferring planes in Sri Lanka.
On March 2, the UN announced its intention
to strictly enforce a specific article of the North Korea sanctions that work
to prevent North Korean diplomats and sojourning employees from carrying large
sums of cash across the border. This includes mandating the deportation/exile
of third party nationals who assist in these acts.
However, whether these renewed efforts will
significantly affect the cash streams propping up the North Korean regime
remains to be seen. “Even with Chinese customs officials intensifying
inspections working hard to crack down on and inspect cargo closely, North
Korean traders are working just as hard to devise new ways to smuggle the cash
back into their home country,” said another North Korean source currently in
China.
“They are coming up with new methods and
tricks and secrets that we can’t even imagine.”
