By Choi Sung-jin
As news about the United Nations' sanctions on North Korea spread, hoarding has been rampant in the North's private markets, driving up prices, Radio Free Asia reported Friday, quoting Chinese sources.
The sources said they have checked market prices through residents in Rajin and Sonbong in North Hamgyung Province. "Particularly, rice and oil prices are rising rapidly," they were quoted as saying.
This is because the North Korean people have begun panic buying, thinking China would block supplies as part of the international sanctions, they said. In Cheongjin, for instance, Chinese rice is traded at 3.8 Chinese yuan per kg, up 0.6 yuan from just 10 days ago.
An official working with North Korean defectors also said, "A source in North Korea has told us the North Korean people think the latest sanctions are quite different from previous ones, as they see that the flow of goods from China has all but stopped."
Since the sanctions went into effect, there have also been sharp increases in the numbers of homeless people, thieves and burglars, and that some vendors wait for their family members so they can go home together, the official said.
As news about the United Nations' sanctions on North Korea spread, hoarding has been rampant in the North's private markets, driving up prices, Radio Free Asia reported Friday, quoting Chinese sources.
The sources said they have checked market prices through residents in Rajin and Sonbong in North Hamgyung Province. "Particularly, rice and oil prices are rising rapidly," they were quoted as saying.
This is because the North Korean people have begun panic buying, thinking China would block supplies as part of the international sanctions, they said. In Cheongjin, for instance, Chinese rice is traded at 3.8 Chinese yuan per kg, up 0.6 yuan from just 10 days ago.
An official working with North Korean defectors also said, "A source in North Korea has told us the North Korean people think the latest sanctions are quite different from previous ones, as they see that the flow of goods from China has all but stopped."
Since the sanctions went into effect, there have also been sharp increases in the numbers of homeless people, thieves and burglars, and that some vendors wait for their family members so they can go home together, the official said.
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