DPRK leader Kim Jong-UN requires that members of the North Korean elite infusion of funds in the budget of the country to confront the dual threat posed by the pandemic COVID-19 and international sanctions

The press service of the President of Russia

As the newspaper notes, North Korea is faced with the most powerful economic recession since 1997, as a result of her 36-year-old leader tries to regain centralized control over the economy, potentially undermining the transition to a market economy and the emerging features of capitalism

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DPRK leader Kim Jong-UN requires that members of the North Korean elite infusion of funds in the budget of the country to confront the dual threat posed by the pandemic COVID-19 and international sanctions, writes the Financial Times.

As the newspaper notes, North Korea is faced with the most powerful economic recession since 1997, as a result of her 36-year-old leader tries to regain centralized control over the economy, potentially undermining the transition to a market economy and the emerging features of capitalism.

Acute economic problems, according to the newspaper, according to evidence that the DPRK for the first time since 2003, plans to issue government bonds. It last week reported the South Korean Daily NK portal and Fitch ratings. The FT interviewed experts claim that the purpose of the bond issue is to attract foreign currency from wealthy residents of the country to Finance 60% of the budget.

An expert on North Korea from the University of Vienna Peter ward in conversation with the FT called sudden bonding is an important event. “I think this is the first real sign that they are faced with very significant financial problems because of the sanctions and of the virus,” he said.

According to ward, the buyers will have no guarantees for the payment of the bonds. He called the North Korean government is incompetent in making informed investment decisions. Another expert said that the government’s objective is to get the most income from market-oriented enterprises.

A member of the American analytical center Foreign Policy Research Institute Benjamin Silberstein in conversation with the FT expressed the view that the North Korean authorities use various methods to force the elite to the transfer of foreign currency to the Treasury. “Business representatives and any other people who earn decent money, have to pass a “voluntary” contributions to the state to demonstrate loyalty to its leader. This, of course, just extortion by another name,” – said the expert.

In North Korea, according to official data, there are cases COVID-19, but several media outlets reported the presence of infected in the country. In March it was reported that North Korea had secretly requested international assistance in connection with the spread of coronavirus and wants to buy tests for coronavirus. The DPRK has sent requests to the world health organization and the international Red Cross requests for assistance addressed to the Russia and China.

In the official world statistics on the spread of the coronavirus, a new type of the DPRK no. However, experts in the field of medicine believe that the country does not have sufficient capacity for the diagnosis of virus carriers. One of the sources told FT that the DPRK earlier in the year have tested for coronavirus by about 600 people. The test results were negative. Tests delivered from abroad.

Once in January in Wuhan, there have been reports about the outbreak COVID-19, North Korea immediately closed their borders. According to reports, North Korean state media for the last two months in North Korea to quarantine sent 10 thousand people. International experts in health care believe that the restrictions fell all who have had the symptoms COVID-19.