China has recently begun intensifying control over its border with North Korea, which suggests that cross-border smuggling is unlikely to return to pre-COVID levels in 2024.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a Daily NK source in China said Friday that China’s border patrol plans to install additional CCTVs and infrared sensors along the border with North Korea. The move appears aimed at stopping rampant defections and smuggling in the region.
“With the recent forced repatriation of North Korean defectors, the Chinese government is taking measures to prevent unfortunate incidents connected to North Korea, such as defections and smuggling,” the source said.
China recently faced criticism from the international community for repatriating hundreds of North Korean defectors from prisons in Liaoning and Jilin provinces.
Article 33 of the UN’s “Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees” states: “No Contracting State shall expel or return [“refouler”] a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.” However, China regards North Korean defectors as illegal immigrants, not refugees.
China’s position is that the defectors were repatriated to their homeland through legal procedures, but following the international community’s criticism, Beijing now aims to bolster control of the border to stop the defection issue at the source, according to the source.
Food for export to China rots in warehouses
Currently, rumors are spreading among North Koreans in the China-North Korea border region that China plans to intensify control over the frontier. This has led many people to worry that even the intermittent smuggling going on will completely vanish, the source said.
“Products meant to be sold to China this autumn are rotting. People say if China installs more surveillance cameras, it will become even more difficult to smuggle things into the country.”
The source told Daily NK that smuggling took place from time to time last year despite the closure of the border, but border controls have grown even tighter this year. As a result, many people lament that food that could fetch high prices in China is simply rotting away in warehouses when it could fetch high prices in China.
Many North Koreans are also saying that the North Korean and Chinese government’s intensifying controls over the border will make it hard to expand smuggling activities next year, the source said.
“Even if you’ve already sold expensive agricultural products like pine nuts, wild greens, red beans and medicinal herbs to China, you’d have leftovers, but deals with China haven’t gone as well as last year. They say the [North Korean] government imports and exports more, but this doesn’t mean that individuals can participate in smuggling activities. People are gloomy about how they’ll make money next year.”
Daily NK recently reported that the Chinese government has moved to crackdown on the import of seafood products caught in North Korean waters by intensifying surveillance and inspections of Chinese fishing vessels operating in the border region.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources who live inside North Korea, China and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
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