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China said on Saturday that it was suspending all imports of coal from North Korea as part of its effort to enact United Nations Security Council sanctions aimed at stopping the country's nuclear weapons and ballistic-missile program.
The ban takes effect on Sunday and will last until the end of the year, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a brief statement posted on its website on Saturday. Chinese trade and aid have long been a vital economic crutch for North Korea, and the decision strips North Korea of one of its most important sources of foreign currency.
Coal has accounted for 34 percent to 40 percent of North Korean exports in the past several years, and almost all of it was shipped to China, according to South Korean government estimates.
The ban comes six days after the North Korean test of a ballistic missile that the Security Council condemned as a violation of its resolutions that prohibited the country from developing and testing ballistic missile technology.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 20 2017, @09:34AM
as far as I can tell, the only option that North Korea has, and that is consistent with their behavior over the last few years, is to declare China an enemy and threaten apocalyptic revenge.
the only problem is that it's easy for them to threaten the US: they can motivate their lack of action by the fact that their bomb can't go that far yet; this won't work with China.
so either they do attack China, or they have to live with the humiliation (although I assume they would try to say that it was their decision to stop selling coal or something).
obviously, they don't really care what the outside people think, but they absolutely have to keep this news from their own people.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Pslytely Psycho on Monday February 20 2017, @11:50AM
Hmmm. The Chinese aren't stupid. If he declared war on China, I would postulate that Kim Jong Un would suddenly succumb to an untimely malady. Likely HIVOICE Syndrome.
HIgh Velocity Ordnance Induced Cerebellum Excision Syndrome.
Followed by a very fast installation of a more co-operative puppet.
They certainly don't want a unified Korea, but if their dog misbehaves too much, he becomes it's bad for Chinese international interests. There will be a line he dares not cross lest they decide to put him down.
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Pslytely Psycho on Monday February 20 2017, @11:54AM
Why do I not see the GLARING grammatical error until the moment of hit 'submit.'
Then it is instantly visible for the 1/1000 of a second before the screen changes...
(Takes a huge hit off of his hash-oil pen)
Oh yeah, that's why.....
Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 21 2017, @07:31AM
"Cerebellum" stood out for me. On a second reading I noticed "HIgh." Reading a few more times I noticed "he becomes." It's probably for the best that I'm not a proofreader.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 20 2017, @03:50PM
When I saw HIVOICE my first thought was eunuchs & castration. Then I read your expansion which was a bit of a let down.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 20 2017, @01:06PM
Most of the ones that manage to leave/escape really get a huge shock at many levels - google for the stories for various NK defectors/escapees. And these are the ones who weren't as susceptible to the propaganda...
Like Trump they can pick whatever lie they feel like telling to the population and go ahead and tell it. The difference is those who refute/mock the lie could get executed along with their families and relatives.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 20 2017, @01:18PM
the problem is that if you suddenly only have two thirds of what you had before (they say 30-40% of exports were coal, mostly to China), you notice it, whether or not anyone tells you why.
also, with coal there are a probably a lot of people involved in transporting it, so it would be hard to keep quiet that the coal is no longer moving.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 20 2017, @04:39PM
They'll just make up some excuse for the shortage. In North Korea very many starved to death because of a "food shortage" due to bad weather and failure to implement Kim's teachings.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_famine#Background [wikipedia.org]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_in_North_Korea#Food_shortage [wikipedia.org]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 20 2017, @03:28PM
When I was going to work in the morning I decided to stop by the McDonald's Drive Through to pick up something extra special. I pulled up and told the lady I would like "One Shamrock-Shake, small" I confirmed that that was it and she told me to drive up to the first window. When I did she informed me that unfortunately the machine is not on yet, and if I would like a Frappe instead. Reluctantly I agreed and I drove off in a huff. I put my hand in a fist, shook it real hard and exalted: "GOD DAMN YOU TRUMP! Stop oppressing me!."
Of course I did not do the last part, because I have a firm grip on reality. Please get some grip on reality my friend.