Students at University of Coal Mining in Pyongsong frustrated about their futures
One area impacted by continuing international sanctions on North Korea has been the country’s coal industry. Now students at the University of Coal Mining in North Korea are expressing frustration about their futures.
“University of Coal Mining students are asking themselves whether what they’re studying is totally meaningless,” a South Pyongan Province-based source told Daily NK. “The halt in coal exports means that there’s no professors who can guide them and they aren’t finding any answers through discussions with their fellow students. They’re frustrated.”
The University of Coal Mining in Pyongsong, South Pyongan Province, cultivates future members of the country’s coal industry and include programs focused on the fields of mining, refining, equipment development and energy-related research. North Korea has large stores of coal and the country has focused on developing these resources for some time.
Since the Kim Il Sung-era, North Korea has placed importance on the coal industry and coal-friendly energy policies have long been in place. The export coal has also been a source of foreign currency for the regime’s coffers. A Korea Industry Trade Association (KITA) report states that North Korea’s exports of coal to China reached 1.18 billion USD (around 22 million tons) in 2016.
The UN Security Council’s Resolution 2371, which was adopted in response to North Korea’s launch of a ICBM in 2017, prohibited the country’s export of coal and disrupted the regime’s money-making activities. ......
[Source: Daily NK]
