As busy movements unlike before have been detected at China’s Dandong customs, the possibility that North Korea has started to resume trade with China in three years is raised.
According to the Voice of America (VOA) on the 7th, significant changes were observed at the Chinese customs yard near the ‘Joshua-China Friendship Bridge’ connecting Dandong, China, and Sinuiju, North Korea. In the satellite photo of ‘Planet Labs’ on the 1st, which took this area, it was captured that this place, which had been empty for the past three years, was filled with objects presumed to be cargo trucks.
On the 30th of last month, a satellite image of Planet Labs also found an object that filled about half of the southeast side of the yard. This is the place where container trucks waited to return to Sinuiju before North Korea closed the border. This place, which was quiet without a single vehicle after Corona 19, has recently detected a busy change.
VOA reported, “It is not possible to know exactly what kind of movement it is based on satellite photos alone,” but “the fact that the same scene was observed as in the past when trucks were actively passing in and out raised the possibility that the object was a truck headed for North Korea.” “If this object is a truck, it can be interpreted that North Korea-China trade overland has resumed in about three years,” he said.
VOA estimated that the trucks began entering and leaving the yard in earnest on the 26th and 29th of last month. This is because on the 25th of last month, the yard was empty as before, and from the 26th to the 29th it was impossible to read satellite images due to clouds in the area.
VOA said, “It seems that truck traffic resumed at some point between the 25th of last month and the 30th when objects such as vehicles were captured.”
Circumstances in which cargo entering North Korea from China was quickly moved inland were also captured. North Korea operated a space to isolate cargo from China on the runway of Uiju Airfield in 2021 from mid-January of last year, and the cargo there has recently sharply decreased.
VOA said, “At present, the reason for the decrease in cargo here is unknown.” ”he said.
However, given that North Korea-China trade has been steadily increasing since the end of last year, it is unlikely that the inflow of freight via train has stopped.
In fact, North Korea-China trade volume has recently been increasing significantly every month. According to China’s General Administration of Customs, total trade between North Korea and China in March recorded $158.45 million, up 30 percent from the previous month. In the first quarter of this year (January to March), North Korea-China trade amounted to $485.85 million, up 147% from the same period last year.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.