A pro-North Korea newspaper based in Japan says that the North has deposits of rare earth minerals amounting to some 20 million tons. The Choson Shinbo reported on Saturday that the deputy chief of the North's national resource development agency said Pyongyang is looking into using the valuable materials for manufacturing and is considering joint development projects with other countries.
Rare earth minerals are essential elements used in semiconductors, cars and other advanced technologies.
No official information on the exact size of the claimed rare-earths deposit in North Korea is available.
| Expect the Chinese to have functional control over the sales of these deposits so as to ensure the Chinese have, with their own rare earth deposits, a strangle-hold on world markets. |
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