After suffering damage on September 28, the
Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge – which connects China’s Dandong City and North
Korea’s Sinuiju City – was finally reopened on November 2nd following repairs,
according to inside reports. However, because the bridge’s structural integrity
is still in question, a weight limit is being imposed on freight trucks
crossing the bridge, causing a major drawdown in the amount of goods being
imported into North Korea.
During a telephone conversation with the
Daily NK on November 5th, an inside source from North Pyongan Province said,
“North Korean traders and merchants waiting in vehicles on the Sinuiju side of
the river breathed a collective sigh of relief when the bridge was reopened on
November 2nd. It wasn’t all good news, however. Vehicles and their total cargo
can not exceed a 25 ton weight limit. Some trucks tip the scales at around 30
tons and will therefore be stuck on the North Korean side. This has caused
exasperation from businesses looking to export minerals and other heavy cargo
to China.”
Daily NK crosschecked this information with
a separate source in the same province who frequently traverses the bridge for work purposes.
After the first round of repairs, the
source continued, there was a 15-ton limit, and now after the completion of the
second round, the limit was raised to 25 tons. The mineral trade has been
forced to find a work around in the face of weight restrictions on the
Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge.
“Instead of simply crossing from Sinuiju to
Dandong, they’re forced to use boats to go from North Korea’s Nampo Harbor to
China’s Dong River. This transportation method works well enough, but it is
both more expensive and time consuming, so the mineral traders are hoping that
full operation of the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge comes back online
posthaste,” he explained.
Upon hearing the news that the bridge would
be reopened, “North Korean mineral traders were ecstatic,” the source said, “but that joy quickly evaporated when they learned how strictly the
Chinese customs officials were enforcing the 25 ton maximum.” Truck drivers
operating vehicles that have already been loaded with cargo that exceeds the weight
limit are particularly distressed.
“When the bridge reopened on November 2nd,
Chinese customs officers from Dandong were inspecting vehicles on the North
Korean side. All vehicles exceeding the weight limit were barred from crossing.
This means that plenty of smaller scale traders were back to business as usual,
but 30-40 ton trucks – such as those from the mining industry – have been stuck
at customs,” he lamented.
Compounding these frustrations is the lack
of news on when the weight limits will expire and the bridge will be restored
to 100% operation. Until then, mineral exporters are going to see profit
margins veer towards the red, as they impatiently wait or search for more
costly shipping methods. With no way to know when exactly they will get the
green light, managers are forced to make “difficult strategic decisions,” the
source explained.
On September 28th, a truck transiting the
deteriorating bridge had an accident and rolled over. After this, two waves of
construction efforts followed. The first effort lasted from September 31st –
October 4th. To prevent another accident from occurring, a second round of
repairs spanned from October 24th – November 1st.
Meanwhile, the train from Dandong to
Sinuiju that operates on a track spanning the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge has
been functioning normally during this time.
“Though the vehicle road portion of the
bridge was damaged, the portion which contains the train tracks has been
unaffected. Some Chinese tourists are entering Sinuiju by crossing the bridge
on foot, but those hoping to go all the way to Pyongyang are mostly using the
train,” the source concluded.
