Sanctions may hurt but China oil is N Korea's weakness

Hong Kong

FOR North Korea's fledgling economy, the latest round of sanctions will cut deep.

The curbs on everything from lead and fish exports to shady North Korean companies coincide with a deadly drought that's ruining crops, darkening an already dire humanitarian picture. An estimated 40 per cent of the population is already under-nourished and two-thirds are reliant on food aid, according to estimates by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Food Programme.