Following a recent announcement by the Ministry of External Economic Relations that the Hyesan customs house will open in February 2023, traders in Yanggang Province’s city of Hyesan are accelerating preparations for the restart of trade.
A source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Tuesday that traders in the city have been busy preparing for the restart of trade since late December.
“They’ve launched activities to conduct exports to and imports from China in preparation for the opening of the [Hyesan] customs office,” he said.
According to the source, given that trade with China has suspended over the last three years, trading companies in Yanggang Province have been unable to ship the ore concentrates they have in storage.
The source told Daily NK that trading companies had been storing large amounts of relatively high-priced ore concentrates, such as molybdenum, following rumors that the customs house would reopen. The customs office did not opened as quickly as expected, however.
Traders who purchased the ore after taking out high-interest loans have been under considerable stress: Unable to move their product due to the continued border closure, they have been anxiously waiting for when the customs office will reopen.
The source said that traders specializing in ore exports are now once again accelerating preparations for trade following news that China-North Korea trade will restart in February 2023.
A trader in Hyesan, a Mr. Chae, is going to his company every day to check on the state of his export items, the source told Daily NK.
In fact, Mr. Chae is telling his creditors – members of the donju, or the country’s wealthy entrepreneurial class – to wait just a bit more since making money will “no longer be a problem” when the customs house opens in February.
“Traders are going around to donju, once again taking out high-interest loans to buy ore concentrates, and they are busy transporting the stored-up ore to their companies,” said the source.
“Nowadays, the mood in Hyesan is improving with news that the customs house will open,” he continued, adding, “The Ministry of External Economic Relations quietly announced that the customs house will open from February, but since nobody knows exactly when it will reopen, everyone is waiting nervously.”
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