Asia Times
today reports some more details and speculation about the PRC's
forcing the DPRK's Emperor casino, in
China cashes in
its N Korean casino chips, by Michael Rank, a former Reuters
correspondent in China, now working in London:
The entire clientele of the Hong Kong-owned Emperor
casino was Chinese ...
Pyongyang reacted to the ban by rushing the head of its state
tourism bureau to Yanbian to talk to Chinese officials, but
apparently in vain, and there is little sign that the casino will
reopen in the near future, if ever. ...
The casino complex is owned by Hong Kong's Emperor Group, headed by
controversial multi-millionaire Albert Yeung Sau Shing, who is said
to have triad links, as well as close ties with the CCP. ...
Analysts say that China has major economic leverage over Korea -
oil and grain deliveries, political support and such activities as
the casino - and could exert pressure on Pyongyang to rejoin the
six-party talks on persuading the North Korean regime to abandon
its nuclear weapons program. ...
Some 50,000 Chinese are reported to have visited the $180 million
Emperor each year. ... It has, or had before the closure, 575
employees, of whom 275 are North Korean while the rest are Chinese,
with a few managers from Hong Kong.
The North Korean government takes 70% of the North Koreans' salary.
...
[T]here is a strict ban on bringing in cell phones and other
electronic gadgets, reflecting North Korea's paranoia about foreign
influences. ...
The casino is situated in the so-called Rajin-Sonbong Free Economic
and Trade Zone, which was launched with much fanfare in 1991 as a
magnet for foreign investors. But North Korean xenophobia and
bureaucracy have ensured that investment has been minimal, and now
it seems that the biggest project in the 746 square kilometer zone
is set to die.
Previous blog entry
PRC
forces DPRK to close casino. While the effect of the closure
isn't as immediate as cutting off oil or grain, losing this foreign
exchange source is significant, especially since nothing whatsoever
actually has to be produced to get the money.