By If true because I don’t know how this guy came up with this number, the profits the North Koreans are making with their Iranian deals would have to be one of their biggest money makers, if not the biggest for the North Korean regime:
A U.S. specialist in Asian affairs says North Korea is making an annual profit of over two billion dollars from deals with Iran.
Larry Niksch at the U.S. Congressional Research Service claimed during a forum at the U.S. CATO Institute think tank Tuesday that in addition to financial sanctions against the North, China should block flights between Pyongyang and Tehran.
Niksch added that Washington has evidence that scientists, engineers as well as North Korea’s missiles, parts and drawings for missiles are being transferred by air between the North and Iran. [KBS Global]
The event this claim was made at was part of a forum to discuss engaging China to solve the North Korean problem:
War is not an acceptable option, increased sanctions seem unlikely to work, and so far diplomacy has proved ineffective. Does working in closer cooperation with China offer a better option? Beijing has the most clout in Pyongyang, but remains unwilling to use its influence. Could U.S. policymakers persuade China to take a more active role, perhaps even working to oust the murderous regime of Kim Jong-il? What arguments would be most compelling for Beijing and what incentives might Washington offer to win China’s cooperation?
Seems like more wishful thinking to me, because I wonder if these forum members have thought about the possibility that China doesn’t want to solve the North Korean issue?
By the way here is some further reading on North Korea’s activities with Iran:
