Yanji(China): North Korea, known for its
rare metals and globally demanded for household electric
appliances and industrial machinery, is curbing their exports
and tightening grip on such precious resources, sources have
said.
North Korea is initiating such measures as Chinese
enterprises, which are trying to secure natural resources, are
going "to exterminate them root and branch," said a source
well-versed in Chinese and North Korean affairs.
At an international conference held in Yanjiin in
October, Director of the Economy Institute at the North Korean
Academy of Social Sciences Kim Chol Jun had revealed that his
country is restricting exports of unprocessed resources.
"Mineral resources are exported at high prices by
processing them. Exports of cheap unprocessed goods are a loss
to the state," he said.
South Korea's Unification Ministry estimates that
underground mineral resources in North Korea are valued at
about 540 trillion Yen (USD 4.5 trillion), and the amount of
deposits of magnesite used to trim the weight of automobile
parts is the world's largest at 3 billion to 4 billion tons.
In addition to iron ore, North Korea is said to be rich
in such rare metals as molybdenum and rare earth.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, January 13, 2010, 20:50