China -North Korea Trading Partners

In defiance of American sanctions about trading with the isolated Communists in North Korea, the State Department announced that China has been sending vessels to North Korea and loading them with coal and making no secret of it. This clearly an act to antagonize the US. Aerial photograps show coal being loaded at the Nampo ports where coal is shipped abroad. These exports are worth between $330 mion and $410 millions of dollars. The Koreans have made efforts to hack into various computers to steal assets and bitcoins. These efforts have yielded certain amounts of cash, but it's an irregular stream of finds. So, China is continuing its Xi-sponsored international efforts to confront the West.