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Norway sells salmon eggs to North Korea

The Local Norway
The Local Norway - [email protected]
Norway sells salmon eggs to North Korea
Salmon eggs on their way from Norway to the world. Photo: Aquagen

With exports to China still struggling in the wake of the Nobel prize debacle, Norway’s salmon industry is making inroads into an unlikely Asian market: North Korea.

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According to a report from North Korea by Norway’s TV2 network, the country is now consuming large quantities of Atlantic Salmon. 
 
But it's only the fish eggs which come from Norway, after which North Korean fish farms raise them to fully sized salmon, which are then served in the finer fish restaurants of the capital, Pyongyang. 
 
TV2 tracked the eggs back to the Norwegian company AquaGen, one of the world’s leading exporters of fertilized salmon eggs.
 
Jakob Soldal, who is responsible to marking to North Korea, told the channel that although most goods to North Korea were prohibited by trade sanctions upheld by Norway, fish eggs were an exception. 
 
“We thought that North Korea was such a special case that we made inquiries to the Norwegian foreign ministry to see if there were any trade restrictions,” he said. “They have considered this on three to four occasions and every time said that this was not in violation of the sanctions on North Korea.” 
 
Frode Andersen, a spokesman for the Norwegian foreign ministry, confirmed that there were no restrictions on fish egg exports. 
 
“The products we are talking about are not illegal to export,” he said. 
 

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