 A North Korean service worker at Pyongyang Restaurant asked our source to top taking photos after capturing this and the image below. Image: Daily NK |
The North Korean Pyongyang Restaurant, located in the Xita neighborhood of China’s Shenyang, was once a popular eatery among foreign and Chinese patrons alike, but UN sanctions continue to take a toll on its business.
Daily NK has obtained photos of staff at the establishment from a source in China, who told Daily NK that when he attempted to speak with the service workers, “they would not reply and appeared visibly nervous.”
A separate source in China close to North Korean affairs added, “Most of the North Korean restaurants aren’t doing well. Chinese residents in the area avoid patronizing these establishments. When I went into Pyongyang Restaurant recently there were no patrons to speak of–all you saw was a sea of empty tables.”
In September 2017, China’s Commerce Ministry ordered the closure of North Korean companies operating inside the country within 120 days of the adoption of UN Resolution 2375, which passed on September 11, 2017. The Ministry also announced that Chinese joint ventures with North Koreans and North Korean companies would be closed.
Daily NK previously reported in January 2018 that North Korea has been sending female students from Pyongyang’s Jang Chol Gu University of Commerce to earn foreign currency in restaurants in the Chinese border city of Dandong.
