My name is Daniel. I was an English teacher in Seoul, South Korea, and am now a writer who has

published three books including South Korea: Our Story by Daniel Nardini.

                   There are many ways that North Korea gets around any and all sanctions against it, and

this is being done with the help of China. When you buy products that say "Made in China," they may in

fact not be made in China. Here is what happens: Chinese business people go over the border into North

Korea and may put in an order for clothes, toys, etc., to be manufactured. The reason is not hard to figure

out why---labor and costs are lower in North Korea compared to even China. The one thing they do is

put in the label "Made in China" so that North Korea can get around the United Nations' sanction on cash

or credit transfers to North Korea. This way North Korea can get the hard currency it wants, and this

arrangement works for Chinese business interests trying to cut costs. Another method is having North

Koreans forced to work in China and make the products Chinese business interests want. Then by 

agreement, almost all of the wages of those North Korean workers in China are transferred to North Korea

leaving the North Korean workers virtual slaves of their Chinese business masters. Since North Korean

leader Kim Jong-un came to power, he has expanded these backdoor networks to get around American

and United Nations sanctions and at the same time bring in badly needed hard currency to make the

North Korean economy work and also put money into North Korea's weaponry programs. It is a win-win

situation for the North Korean government and for Chinese business interests. It is a major lose situation

for ordinary North Koreans.