March 23, 2016•Update: March 28, 2016
By Alex Jensen
SEOUL
North Korea insisted Wednesday that its economy is expanding regardless of attempts to curb Pyongyang's nuclear weapon ambitions.
The authoritarian regime's Rodong Sinmun newspaper made the claim in the face of strengthened United Nations sanctions as well as unilateral punitive measures, such as those being enforced by the United States.
"However harsh the U.S. economic sanctions against [North Korea] are, it will prove ineffective due to the might of the country's self-supporting national economy and single-minded unity," stated the newspaper article in question.
The North drew those latest punishments for its fourth ever nuclear test, in January, and subsequent long-range rocket blast a month later.
The Rodong Sinmun even cited February's associated indigenous satellite launch as evidence of local economic success.
While the global economy continues to struggle, the article asserted that the U.S. and its allies would be "surprised" to find out about the North’s current period of growth.
Despite the claims, North Korea is reliant on China for a widely estimated 90 percent of its trade, and thereby its access to hard cash.
This month's new sanctions have the potential to squeeze Pyongyang's nuclear development by targeting key commodities such as coal, the North's biggest export -- Chinese customs data shows imports of coal from North Korea last year reached $1 billion in value.
It remains to be seen how faithfully Beijing will live up to its vow to implement the new sanctions, having been accused of failing to ensure the effectiveness of a UN resolution in 2013.
Early reports have been mixed, but overall Chinese coal imports have been on the slide anyway due to falling domestic prices.
Critics of the UN's latest sanctions fear that a loophole could be exploited, allowing North Korean coal shipments to continue as long as they do not fund nuclear development or weapons.
