According to Yonhap: The communist country’s imports of Swiss tobacco machinery components reached US$180,000 in the January-June period, far more than the $24,000 worth of imports recorded for...
https://www.nkeconwatch.com/2014/10/15/dprk-imports-from-switzerland-in-2014/
According to the Daily NK: May 31st was also the 26th ‘World No Tobacco day.” According to Rodong Shinmun, North Korea also observed ‘No Tobacco Day’ at an event held at Pyongyang People�...
Picture above via Wall Street Journal. Click image for larger version. Quoting from the article: An examination of U.N. and Chinese trade data reveals that exports to North Korea of products in...
https://www.nkeconwatch.com/2012/01/07/dprk-luxury-good-import-data/
According to Yonhap: At least a decade has passed since North Korea’s official media began urging its people to quit smoking ahead of 2012, the year it aims to become a “great, prosperous and...
https://www.nkeconwatch.com/2011/05/31/dprk-struggling-with-smoking/
By Michael Rank China has launched a fleet of patrol boats to combat drug trafficking on the North Korean border, a Chinese website reports. The report shows pictures of the four boats, which are...
https://www.nkeconwatch.com/2010/07/18/china-launches-anti-drug-smuggling-boats-on-yalu-river/
(H/T to the Marmot) According to the AFP: Speakers at a Pyongyang event marking World No-Tobacco Day stressed the increasing social concern over the practice, the official news agency reported....
https://www.nkeconwatch.com/2010/06/01/dprk-hosts-no-tobacco-day/
The Financial Times published a thorough article on the DPRKs eforts to raise hard currency through tobacco re-exports: North Korean and other Asian trading entities started re-exporting State Ex...
https://www.nkeconwatch.com/2010/03/08/on-tobacco-and-hard-currency/
The International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) is an annual report by the Department of State to Congress prepared in accordance with the Foreign Assistance Act. It describes the eff...
UPDATE: According to the Boston Herald, the diplomats were sentenced to eight months in prison. ORIGINAL POST: It is no secret that North Korean diplomats and embassies are self-financing. In...
https://www.nkeconwatch.com/2009/11/22/dprk-diplos-arrested-for-smuggling-again/
Writing in the Daily NK, guest author “Benji” and an astute reader offer us this little glimpse of economic rationality in North Korean culture. Commenting on the photo above, “Benji” n...
https://www.nkeconwatch.com/2009/01/24/economic-rationality-in-the-dprk/