Global Courant
‘Stuck waiting’
North Korean athletes now compete overseas, and leader Kim made a rare overseas trip to Russia in September.
But traders in Dandong told AFP they have not seen that openness translated into practice.
“We have no idea when they will open,” said a Chinese cross-border trader in a darkened office near the river dividing the two countries.
“We’re sitting around waiting with nothing to do but hang out and drink,” said another merchant.
Dozens of import-export stores were shuttered or abandoned nearby.
Beijing confirmed in 2022 that rail freight transport with North Korea had resumed.
In September, AFP reporters in Dandong spotted a train entering the North Korean city of Sinuiju around 7:40 a.m., returning about 45 minutes later.
China’s trade volume with North Korea has increased recently but remains about 30 percent lower than in the month before the border closure, according to an AFP calculation based on figures from Beijing’s General Administration of Customs.
But traders said restrictions on the movement of people and goods continued to hamper trade.
“I haven’t done business with them for more than three years,” says an exporter who specializes in household electronics.
He said he turned to making clothes for domestic customers after trade and communications with North Korean customers dried up.
His income had fallen by about half compared to before the pandemic.
Traders declined to be identified to freely discuss the politically sensitive topic of dealing with North Korea.
The Dandong Customs Authority declined to comment on the current trade situation.
Wigs, seafood and ginseng
Doing business with North Korea is fraught because Pyongyang’s trade in everything from coal and oil to seafood and sporting goods is limited.
Traders told AFP it was still possible to conduct limited trade from China to North Korea in certain medical equipment and certain types of clothing.
But the sweeping nature of the sanctions has prompted some to undertake unorthodox ventures.
A trader promoting wigs and fake eyelashes said he sent raw materials for processing in North Korea before reimporting finished hairpieces for sale.
Human rights groups and defectors say the hair market employs prisoners from the country’s detention centers.
Other traders hinted that some types of under-the-table trading were also possible.
A night market in Dandong touted North Korean seafood, saying Chinese fishermen often raided its waters in search of “fresher, better quality” produce.
Another shopkeeper said he had “channels” for importing the ginseng on his shelves, “but I won’t say what those channels are.”
One bright spot seems to be tourism – limited to the Chinese side for now.
Several Chinese travel agents in Dandong said domestic tourists were finally recovering after years of virus restrictions crippled domestic travel.
Two tour operators aimed at Western visitors said they had received no official notice but were quietly confident of a 2024 reopening.
“There are positive signs,” says Mr Simon Cockerell of travel agency Koryo Tours, saying he sees no reason not to “get too excited yet”.
