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When it comes to North Korea, most people think of the words “closed,” “poor,” “mysterious.”But did you know?This country is only 12.3 thousand square kilometers of land, and underground buried things may be worth more than $6 trillion.
At the moment Trump crossed the 38th line, the world was guessing what he was painting.
A mountain is hidden underneath.
How exaggerated are North Korea’s mineral reserves?
More than 300 species of minerals have been identified, with more than 200 species of economic development value, which is equivalent to a sample chamber placed directly on the map of Northeast Asia.
Mitsubishi Mining Reserves First in the World， That’s not blown out, with six billion tons of reserves, more than 40 percent of the world’s.
You may not know what is made of Mitsubishi mining, fire-resistant materials, titanium alloys, building materials, which industrial power can not be separated from it. North Korea light is the three mining areas of Salt Lake, Dongguan, Dongguan, Longyang, can be supplied to the world for decades.
Iron ore is even more terrifying, with deposits of 90 to 11 billion tons, close to the world’s top ten.
The Iron Mine.One mine has 5 billion tons of reserves, an annual production capacity of 8 million tons, is an open-air mine, it is as convenient to dig as land.
The mine is on the border and can be reached by car. Jiechuan Iron Mine, which has the highest iron ore grade, has an iron content of up to 70%, which is purer than concentrates in many countries.
2 billion tons of rare earth mines. What does this number mean?The world is robbing rare earth, mobile phones, computers, new energy vehicles, missile-guided systems, leaving the rare earth full of sleeves. North Korea's provincial rare earth mines, buried shallow, good quality, is no technology without funds for mining.
Gold mines, copper mines, zinc mines, uranium mines, graphics, are not lacking.
Yunshan Gold Mine, Dayudong Gold Mine, Huishan Copper Mine, Xuchuan Copper Mine and Jiande Lead-Zinc Mine. It doesn't matter if you can't remember these names. Just remember a little. There are mines under 80% of North Korea's territory.
So why is North Korea so poor?
It is embarrassing to mine.
How old is the equipment?
North Korea's mining equipment, most of which was still supported by the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1960s. Have you ever seen that old-fashioned belt carrier?
Without technology, we can only sell raw ore, dig out the iron ore, load it directly and ship it to China.When rare earth ore is excavated, it cannot be selected for beneficiation, so concentrate can only be sold at a low price.
In 2013, North Korea exported 2.924 billion US dollars to China, and mineral resources accounted for 1.815 billion US dollars. As soon as you calculate, you know that the loss is big. What fraction of the price of raw ore can be that of processed products?
Lack of electricity is fatal.。
North Korea's power generation is only 80% of that of 1990, and its industrial production capacity is only 60%. To mechanize mines, there must be electricity, to purify mineral processing, there must be electricity, and to make steel and iron, which is an electric tiger. There is not enough electricity. What can we do when the mine is opened?
Infrastructure cannot keep up. Many mining areas are in deep mountains and old forests. Transportation depends entirely on roads, and railways cannot be builtIn the rainy season, the mountain roads collapse, the mining pile cannot be transported out, the winter frozen soil layer is one meter thick, the excavator cannot move.
In 2017, U.N. sanctions came, banning exports of coal, iron ore, and lead ore, and North Korea loses $7.6 billion annually in foreign currency. There is a mine, but it can't be sold. It's equal to a pile of stones.
The total GDP is 200 billion yuan, even less than a local city in China. We need to feed 25 million people, provide 13.5 million active troops and develop nuclear weapons.Mineral resources are clearly gold dishes, and are not biased.
How did the 1.3 million army get rid of it?
1,35 million active troops, fourth in the world， This figure is placed in a country of 25 million people, meaning that one in 18 people is a soldier.
The Korean People's Army is divided into five major branches: Army 1 million, Navy 60,000, Air Force 100,000, Strategic Army (missile force), and Special Operations Force 200,000.
The reserves and paramilitary personnel, combined with 6 million, estimate that a quarter of the country’s population has ties to the military.
Military spending is a mystery, with the defense budget of $500 million, which accounts for one-sixth of the country’s budget.
But nobody knows that this number is wrong, feeding so many troops, equipping with missiles, nuclear weapons, $500 million, even zero heads, is not enough. real military spending is estimated to be at least six to eight times that number.
The export of mineral resources is big, there are foreign labor exports, smuggling trade, cyber hackers stealing foreign currency.In the 2010s, North Korea sent tens of thousands of workers to Russia and the Middle East for hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
Military food is more difficult.
North Korea's grain output is barely enough to eat, but the army wants to eat well. What should we do? The army has its own farms, fishing grounds, factories.
Chongjin, North Hamgyong Province, is the largest steel base in North Korea. The army directly manages the steel mill. Many mines are also mined by the army, and the foreign exchange for mineral exports is directly the entry fee.
Special forces are the most mysterious force in North Korea.
200,000 specialized infiltration operations can dive into the territory of South Korea in 48 hours.This force is best equipped, the hardest trained, and the most treated.
Because North Korea knows, really fight, the conventional army does not have to stand up to the US-Korean coalition, Special forces are money.。
Such a huge army is a huge burden on the economy, but North Korea has no choice. Pyongyang, the capital, is only 150 kilometers away from the 38th parallel, and Busan is only 325 kilometers away from Panmunjom. Once a war breaks out, missiles can hit Seoul in ten minutes. Maintaining a high-pressure military posture is North Korea's survival strategy.
Why does Trump want to meet Kim Jong-un?
June 12, 2018, Singapore. Trump and Kim shrugged hands at the moment when the world held its breath, and U.S. presidents and North Korean leaders sat down and talked for the first time in 65 years.
What is Trump picturing?
On the surface it is denuclearization, in fact more complex, North Korea has nuclear weapons in its hands, which is the heart of the United States, but only for denuclearization, the president personally got to go out?
Mineral resources are crucial.
Trump is a businessman, he calculates, North Korea underground buried 6 trillion dollars of minerals, 2 billion tons of rare earth, 11 billion tons of iron mine, these things once developed, how many industries can drive?
On June 30, 2019, Trump made another big thing, crossing the 38th line, becoming the first current U.S. president to step on North Korean soil.
CNN exploded on the spot, the world media was broadcast live, and Trump later said: We must respect each other and appreciate each other.。 "This is intriguing.
North Korea's cards are clear. Nuclear weapons are bargaining chips, mineral resources are bait, and geographical location is lever.
North Korea is stuck between China and Russia, controlling strategic areas in Northeast Asia.The United States wants to pull North Korea, China does not want to; Russia wants to keep North Korea the buffer belt, the United States does not promise.
Kim Jong-un is also smart. He knows that North Korea's economy won't last long and has to find a way out.
Talk to the United States in exchange for sanctions relief; talk to China for food supplies; talk to Russia for energy and military technology. None of the three are guilty, and no one wants to take North Korea as a game.
Today, in 2025, the relationship between the United States and the DPRK has reached a deadlock again. Trump was elected president for the second time, and the North Korean nuclear issue is still hanging there.
But one thing hasn't changed, North Korea's cards are still in its hands, mineral resources are still buried underground, and 13.5 million troops are still guarding the 38th line.This small country has found its place in the game of great powers.
Look at those $6 trillion in minerals and the standard of living of 25 million people, and the answer is clear.
References:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China "Overview of the State - Democratic People's Republic of Korea"
Ministry of National Defence of the People's Republic of China "The Iron Blood Battle will lead Wu Shenzhen to the first four Korean battlefields" (October 28, 2020)
Wikipedia “Mining of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” “2018 Summit of the DPRK and the United States”