North Korea has the largest iron ore reserves, why hasn't it been opened to the outside world so far? Only allow China to mine!

What kind of picture will come to mind when mentioning North Korea? Is it the streets and transportation of the 1970s and 1980s, or the quaint ethnic costumes, or the "Goguryeo" country rich in beautiful women in historical films and TV dramas?

Many tourists to North Korea are surprised by the differences between North Korea and South Korea. Although they are on the same peninsula and in the same era, their development status seems to be half a century apart.

Looking at the current development status of North Korea, many people speculate that its geographical location is too poor and there are not many resources to become its economic pillar, which is why this country has stopped moving forward.

Contrary to some speculations, North Korea not only has resources, but also mineral resources that make many countries envious. But North Korea does not mine these iron mines itself, nor does it open up to the outside world, only allowing China to exclusively mine them.

Isolated countries and enviable mineral resources

People who have traveled to North Korea know that ordinary phone cards cannot be used in North Korea. If you want to make a phone call in North Korea, you must purchase their phone card and pay high phone bills.

And the phone card you received can only make domestic calls, international calls, and internet access.

The Internet has turned the earth into a global village, and the Korean government has banned citizens from accessing the Internet. Isn't that isolating North Korea from the rest of the world?

The North Korean government's ban on citizens accessing the internet is aimed at preventing them from transmitting information to foreign countries and posing a threat to national security.

On the other hand, because of the sanctions of Europe and the United States, the penetration rate of the Internet in North Korea is low. They are still using 3G networks, and smart phones are in their hands a camera that can make calls.

We are used to living a life with the internet and it's hard to imagine boring days without it, but for North Koreans, they have been living this kind of life and adapting to it.

In North Korea, it is not allowed to make international calls with a regular phone card, and one must go to a specific place to make such calls. Except for foreign trade companies, there is generally no one to make such calls, as making one minute requires paying nearly 30 yuan in phone bills.

The vast majority of people in North Korea know they live a life of isolation, but there is nothing they can do about it.

For a long time in the past, the North Korean regime has been repeatedly interfered by foreign forces. This closed policy undoubtedly hinders the development of the country, but it can also maintain national stability to a certain extent and prevent foreign interference in its internal affairs.

Although North Korea is isolated from the world, has slow development, and has a small land area, its mineral resource reserves have reached 80% of the land area. It can be said that almost every inch of land that the North Korean people step on has minerals.

According to research data, there are over 300 types of minerals hidden underground in North Korea, of which over 200 have economic development value.

North Korea has abundant mineral resources, which are closely related to its terrain. North Korea is located in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, with many mountains and few plains, and the available agricultural resources are very scarce.

"When God closes a door for you, he opens a window for you." Although there is very little land available for cultivation, these lands contain mineral resources that make many countries envious.

Before the 1940s, North Korea was a typical agricultural country that later transformed into an industrial country with mining as its pillar enterprise.

North Korea's main mineral resources include coal, gold, aluminum, copper, tungsten, graphite, etc. These ores rank among the top in East Asia in terms of grade, and are indispensable for building materials and scientific research.

Technology is advancing, and the price of ore is also rising. Nowadays, the main exporting countries for mineral resources include Australia, Brazil, Canada, etc. This business has extremely high profits, and countries with abundant mineral resources are simply a godsend.

North Korea, with its unique conditions, can fully export minerals, accumulate wealth, develop industry, and improve national competitiveness. Why haven't they done so?

Sanctions from Europe and America and Difficult to Utilize Mineral Resources

With the rapid development of the global economy, the competition for mineral resources among countries around the world is gradually intensifying.

The world is progressing, wealth is accumulating, and mineral resources are decreasing. Many developed countries are willing to pay high prices to import ore from other countries in order to obtain it, but few countries import ore from North Korea?

On the one hand, it is because North Korea is unable to mine minerals on a large scale, and on the other hand, it is because Europe and America have imposed sanctions on North Korea, and some small countries are afraid to import North Korean goods.

In the 1990s, after the great changes in the Soviet East, North Korea lost a force that could protect itself.

In the early stages, in order to protect themselves, they began to develop nuclear weapons. In the later stage, the military armed forces of North Korea stagnated and were in an extremely dangerous situation. Even if the North Korean army built defense structures day and night, it could not resist the attack of advanced weapons. North Korea could only rely on nuclear weapons to resist South Korea's military armed forces.

At that time, North Korea not only had issues with military armament, but also had significant economic problems.

North Korea, backed by the Soviet Union, established an economic system similar to the Soviet Union, with a focus on industry and a highly mechanized agricultural model.

North Korea, which imitated the Soviet Union, overlooked a problem: their resources were not as abundant as those of the Soviet Union.

Although North Korea is also blessed with food, with 80% of its 120000 square kilometers of land being mineral resources, they unfortunately do not have oil in their resources.

In the past, North Korea relied on imports from the Soviet Union for its oil. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, North Korea lost its source of oil, and their established economic system was no longer able to support national development. So they can only take a different approach by developing nuclear power plants and filling the energy gap.

Europe and America have sanctioned North Korea on the grounds of its nuclear weapons program and missile test issues, with the actual purpose of interfering in North Korea's internal affairs and changing its regime.

This kind of sanction was initially aimed at the leadership of North Korea, but in the end, it was borne by the North Korean people.

North Korea's economy does not rely on Europe and America, so the sanctions imposed by Europe and America have certain limitations on North Korea. Despite the sanctions lasting for many years, North Korea has not collapsed. This is not only a problem of their strong leadership's ability to withstand pressure, but also has many connections with the economy.

The sanctions imposed by Europe and America have brought North Korea's development to a standstill, while also making the situation on the peninsula increasingly tense.

Currently, North Korea has very limited countries that can import and export resources. Even if they mine ore on a large scale, they may not be able to sell it, let alone due to the comprehensive sanctions imposed by Europe and America, they do not even have the ability to mine ore on a large scale.

Mining is not an easy task, and North Korea has extremely high requirements for technological level, pollution treatment capacity, and transportation development. Obviously, North Korea is still unable to achieve the above points.

Since that's the case, why doesn't North Korea cooperate with foreign investors? Isn't it a win-win situation where they come from different places and investors come from different technologies?

In fact, it is very difficult for foreign investors to mine in North Korea because what North Korea is currently implementing is not a market economy, but a planned economy.

Investors all come for profit and hope to independently operate companies and mine, which is clearly contrary to North Korea's economic system.

On the streets of Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, you can't even see private cars. How could they let foreign investors run their own mines?

Win win cooperation

Compared to other countries with impure intentions, North Korea trusts its old neighbors more, after all, North Korea and China are both socialist countries, and China extended a helping hand to North Korea at a critical moment, helping it win the war.

Although China is rich in resources, it has a large population, especially after the reform and opening up, and urgently needs steel resources.

Cooperating with North Korea in mining can not only meet our steel needs but also promote North Korea's economic development, achieving mutual benefit.

The Maoshan Iron Mine in northern North Korea has a reserve of 5 billion tons of high-quality mines and is connected to Northeast China by road.

In the 1990s, a large amount of iron ore in China was imported from Maoshan. In 2005, the head of Maoshan Iron Mine in North Korea reached an agreement with a steel company in Northeast China, ensuring a fifty year mining rights for Maoshan Iron Mine.

Economic cooperation between the two countries has always been a complex matter. In the fourth year of the agreement reached between Northeast Steel Company and Maoshan Iron Mine, the mine encountered problems due to various reasons such as power and material shortages.

Due to North Korea's planned economy and energy shortages, it is difficult for China to successfully complete investment projects in mining.

In recent years, North Korea has focused on developing its economy, which inevitably requires the use of a large amount of steel materials. However, relying solely on North Korea's technology is still difficult to meet the requirements of ore mining, which brings opportunities for cooperation between China and North Korea in the development of iron ore resources.

If the two countries can cooperate smoothly and friendly, it can not only solve the problem of resource scarcity, but also solve the problem of population and employment, killing two birds with one stone.

We cannot just focus on economic development and forget about environmental issues. Mining activities have a huge impact on ecology, specifically manifested as water pollution, solid waste pollution, air pollution,

vegetation coverage, soil erosion, soil pollution, etc. In the mining process, it is necessary to comprehensively utilize resources, minimize the pollution level of waste, reduce tailings output, strictly carry out wastewater treatment, maximize resource utilization, and minimize pollution.

North Korea's development has long been in a difficult situation, and it is difficult to escape the problem. We must do our best to seek cooperation and explore the path of development.

To fully utilize existing resources, North Korea needs to improve its backward economic system, attract more investors, and achieve win-win cooperation. At the same time, we should also strive to develop technology, transportation, facilities, etc., to minimize mining resistance and facilitate cooperation.

Conclusion:

Due to the influence of historical evolution and political constraints, North Korean iron ore is currently only open to China.

Since ancient times, the purpose of all wars has been to compete for resources such as talent, land, and mineral resources. Under the leadership of successive North Korean leaders, the North Korean people have lived a stable life. However, due to the impact of past wars, they find it difficult to trust other countries and cooperate with them, which makes it difficult for them to utilize resources despite having them.

And China has once provided charcoal in snowy weather and helped them with practical actions, so they are willing to believe in China and cooperate with China in mineral mining.