Pre-reading questions:
- Do you think your country is making enough money? Why? Or Why not?
- What does your country do to make money?
North Korea is one of the most closed economies in the world. They earn money from selling tons of coal to China every year, trade basic goods abroad, hack banks in 18 countries, and force their citizens to work abroad. John Park, the director of the Korea Working Group at Harvard Kennedy school, believes Pyeongyang has kept a lot of money in China. These money can support North Korea’s weapons programs. Moreover, North Korea can easily avoid penalties from the global financial system by keeping their money in China.
Vocabulary:
tons – [noun] a large number or amount
trade – [verb] the action of buying and selling goods and services
hack – [verb] to gain access to a computer illegally
citizen – [noun] a resident of a particular town or city.
penalty – [noun] a punishment imposed for violation of law
True or False:
- North Korea has a close economy.
- North Korea earns money from trading goods in another country.
- They earn money from selling tons of coal to Harvard every year.
- North Korea forces its people to work in another country.
- They also hacked banks in 18 countries.