The major North Korean border city of Sinuiju has been closed to visitors
from other regions of the country, in a move believed to be linked to
the state’s decision to permit tourists to remain in the city overnight. Other
measures have been taken to ensure that minimum levels of interaction take
place between local residents and the foreign visitors.
A source from North Pyongan Province explained to Daily NK today, “Since it
became possible for foreign tourists to stay in Sinuiju, the control of citizens
here has gotten much stricter. Unless you are a Party official or working for a
state-run business, you can’t get into the city at all. That means that traders and
ordinary people aren’t being allowed to enter.”
“We are also completely forbidden from entering the hotels and inns where
the foreign tourists stay,” the source added. “They warned us that people who
come into unsanctioned contact with foreigners here for tourism will be
punished.”
The restrictions, which mirror those placed on contact with foreign
tourists in North Korea’s more established destinations, reflect the Kim regime’s
aim of limiting flows of information in and out across the country’s northern
border. While the authorities need to attract tourists on highly restricted
tours in order to earn foreign currency, they simultaneously recognize that such tourists pose a threat to regime security if allowed to interact freely with local people.
Restrictions placed on entry into the city are of specific concern to traders, the
source reported, since Sinuiju is a locus for obtaining many of the Chinese
goods that are sold in the country’s network of public markets, or jangmadang. As a result, “Sinuiju-based
runners are rushing around delivering goods to the interior,” the source
revealed.
“There have always been orders not to take food from foreigners and things
like that, but it’s extremely unusual for them to stop people from other
regions entering the city,” the source explained. “At a time when the number of
foreign tourists is growing, they’ve found it impossible to sit back and ignore traders
coming in to get manufactured goods like shoes, cosmetics; that kind of thing.”
Prices vary for a two-day trip to Sinuiju with a Chinese travel agency, but
the average is currently around 1100RMB (175USD). This price point makes it considerably less
expensive than other tour options. There is active interest in the tours as a result,
sources in Dandong report; at its peak, as many as 300 people travel to the city
per day.
