Sanctions from the UN and the broader international community have
not yet had a significant impact on market activity for ordinary North Koreans,
but domestic concerns nonetheless persist that China will eventually tighten
the noose, thereby crippling market operations and people’s everyday lives.
“Chinese products are still being imported as usual, and
business at the markets remains stable,” a source from South Pyongan Province
told Daily NK in a telephone conversation. “At first there were a lot of
jitters about the strong UN sanctions, but things are peaceful now and back to
normal.”
Market prices on the whole are holding steady, and in some
regions select commodities have been on a downward trend since the turn of
spring; namely rice, corn, flour, and, surprisingly, many of the vegetables used for side
dishes to power through the “barley hump.” Moreover, just last month, the local
currency strengthened against the Chinese yuan, trading for 1,130 KPW from
1,380 KPW.
Taken together, these trends calm worries about the ramifications of sanctions on the jangmadang [market economy, official or otherwise] , but fears of China enforcing stricter rules on border
trade linger just beneath the surface, the source said, noting, “The fact that
there have not yet been any issues bringing in Chinese goods notwithstanding,
many people can’t shake the underlying anxiety that China will turn on a dime
and jeopardize their very survival.”
Even some cadres share such concerns, vocalizing fears that
the current climate is merely the “calm before the storm.” Many residents agree
that if China completely “pulls the plug” on the North, “everything would come
crumbling down within a month,” said an additional source in North Hamgyong Province.
Although the UN Security
Council resolution 2270 stipulates sanctions will not include supplies used for
humanitarian and livelihood purposes, the anxiety in the North reflects just
how deeply reliant the country is on China and how cognizant the population is
of this reality.
A source in North Pyongan Province added he believes Pyongyang likely sent Ri Su
Yong, the Workers’ Party Central Committee vice chairman, to Beijing with a
delegation to preclude complete isolation from the international community and
China’s proactive participation in global sanctions.
