North Korea’s Kim Jong-un a Rare Earth Trillionaire?
March 8th, 2021
Via National Interest, a report on North Korea’s mineral wealth: North Korea has been reported to have high concentrations of rare earth elements, and its neighbor to the south may be wanting to help to exploit these resources. After the historic summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2018, high-ranking officials from […]
Read more »North Korea’s Telecom System Called “Worthless”
February 20th, 2021
Via National Interest, a report on North Korea’s telecommunications infrastructure: It’s well-known that the telecommunications infrastructure in North Korea is less than robust. The country’s wireless networks run on 3G, which is two generations behind where the West is, and it’s not exactly simple to make landline calls, either. A recent report, interviewing people who have made many calls […]
Read more »North Korea’s Economic Crisis
January 5th, 2021
Via East Asia Forum, commentary on North Korea’s economic challenges: COVID-19 came at a tough time for North Korea, both economically and politically, and may have made a bad situation worse. While China’s sanctions implementation has let up somewhat, North Korea’s economic situation still became strikingly dire in 2020. As elsewhere in the world, COVID-19 […]
Read more »The Crackdown on the North Korean Market Economy: What Does It Really Mean?
December 1st, 2020
Via North Korea Economic Watch, commentary on some recent events suggesting a North Korean government crackdown against the market economy: Is the North Korean government cracking down on the market economy as such? I would argue that we are not quite there yet, but an ever-increasing number of news seem to be suggesting that economic policy […]
Read more »Perspectives on North Korea’s Economy
June 24th, 2020
Via North Korean Economy Watch, commentary on the current state of North Korea’s economy: Sanctions and Covid-19 have fused together to put the North Korean economy in what can only reasonably be described as an awful situation. Trade first plummeted through sanctions, and then even further because of North Korea’s and China’s anti-Covid19 measures. And […]
Read more »North Korea: Selling Sand
June 10th, 2020
Via CNN, an interesting report on how North Korea might be making millions — and breaking sanctions — selling sand: It was May of last year when Lucas Kuo and Lauren Sung noticed something strange: more than 100 ships gathering in the waters near Haeju, North Korea. As part of their work at the Washington-based Center […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.