Cause for optimism? Financial sanctions and the rise of the Sino-North Korean border economy

Better for whom? Sanction type and the gendered consequences for women

“…This makes accepting temporary illegal funding from sanctions busters an inadequate short-term solution to a much larger long-term problem. 55 Restrictions on Visa allowances and travel bans can also target elites and leadership more directly, given that in many countries most overseas traveling is limited to the wealthy and powerful. 56 However, such measures can backfire by restricting civilian access to foreign aid when flight bans are in effect.…”

“…Further, effectiveness can change according to the intended goals of the sender state, the type of sanction implemented, and the response by the international community which can be supportive or conflictual. 59 Some more powerful states are less interested in effectiveness and more interested in moral obligations or at least the public perception of a moral obligation. 60 It also matters a great deal if the threat of sanctions is seen as credible by the target state which may alter its behavior prior to sanctions imposition or find outside funding sources to alleviate its discomfort during sanctions.…”

“…Smuggling with the support of Chinese networks in the form of inadequate customs enforcement, false customs declarations to evade taxes and regulation, and corrupt officials at border areas helped North Korea evade some of the intended economic consequences of these sanctions. 73 Furthermore, this increase in illicit economic activity continues beyond the initial imposition of sanctions, as the formal market shrinks and inflation increases. 74 Importantly, when the illicit goods being smuggled are weapons, including small arms, not only do smugglers make a massive profit, but the increased presence of military weaponry makes the target state even more unstable and bolsters any conflictual relationships that may be happening simultaneously, such as civil conflicts or cross-border hostilities.…”

Why 'Smart' Sanctions Still Cause Human Insecurity

“…The vast majority of North Korean trade has been with China along their shared border. Instead of weakening the regime, the sanctions broadened the scope of evasive economic activity based primarily on cash and barter with minimal recourse to the formal banking sector (Lee and Grey 2017). Moreover, "financial sanctions have failed to exert any tangible macroeconomic impact on the country's economy…Instead, the strengthening of financial sanctions against North Korea has coincided with the gradual recovery of the economy amidst the expansion of its economic ties with China" (ibid., 230).…”

The Geopolitical Ethnic Networks for De-bordering: North Korean Defectors in Los Angeles and London

“…The physical border between North Korea and China has long been known to have weaknesses that defectors exploit to make their escape. The role of Chinese actors in the transmission of remittances such as outside information (Ha 2011) and cash remittances (Lee and Gray 2017) to North Korea has recently attracted growing interest. But most studies have not acknowledged the importance of defectors' activities outside the Korean peninsula, which has led to a failure to explicitly connect the flow of remittances and political activity to the issue of de-bordering and re-bordering.…”