For Kim and country

North Korea has been defying West with its ballistic missile prowess, threatening to mount attacks on US

For the last several months, the isolationist-minded regime of North Korea has been defying Western powers with its ballistic missile prowess and threatening to mount attacks on the United States and its allies in Southeast Asia. Its opponents are hardly sitting by idly: they are busy tightening the financial screws around the country in an effort to deprive it of the resources needed to wage war or pose a threat to the region.

Several months ago, a complaint was filed by at least two foreign missions in Islamabad against the North Korean Embassy for alleged involvement in the illegal sale of alcohol. Then on Oct 3, a huge stash of liquor was stolen by three robbers with the connivance of the mission’s local housekeeper. As shown by their liquor allowance quota, North Korean mission officials are clearly importing over and above than what they are entitled to. And given these circumstances, it is easy to surmise that they have been selling the extra booze on the black market. But then again they are unlikely to be the only foreign diplomatic mission doing so. Perhaps the only difference in North Korea’s case could be that their involvement in the bootlegging business is linked more closely to their intention to boost their country’s reserves and bankroll its extensive missile and nuclear programme.

Similar practices have been reported in Kuwait where it is not uncommon to find North Korean expatriate workers involved in bootlegging liquor. Again it is unfair to blame the North Koreans alone, because the nationals of many other countries are engaged in these illegal practices as well.

It is also true that the authorities have been lax about bootlegging — a multimillion-rupee operation run by influential elements in the country. A crackdown targeting the main players may help but stopping the trade altogether requires a supreme effort.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2017.

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