Daily NK has obtained photos showing that the North Korean authorities are importing large quantities of sanctioned items through China.
Daily NK recently obtained several photos of items being imported from Hunchun in China’s Jilin Province to Wonjong Village, which is in the North Hamgyong Province city of Rason. The items North Korea is importing include electronics, steel and machinery, all of which are sanctioned.
The photos, taken in early July, show Chinese-made electronics (such as earphones, smart watches, and refrigerators) and motorcycle engines.
While the majority of items imported into North Korea are made in China, the shipments occasionally include Japanese-made products.
Currently, North Korean traders are removing smaller electronic goods from their packages and placing the products in shipping containers to make the imports less bulky. But larger electronics, such as refrigerators, are being shipped to North Korea with their packaging intact.
While not visible in the photos, sources say that a significant amount of sanctioned machinery, including auto parts and steel, is currently stored in the Chinese customs warehouse.
Sanctions Resolution 2397, adopted by the U.N. Security Council in 2017, prohibits North Korea from importing or exporting electronics and machinery. Yet North Korean authorities appear to be still importing items on the sanctions list.
North Korea’s top recent imports include tiles used in construction and supermarket shopping carts, neither of which are on the sanctions list. Photographs taken by Daily NK show that these products are actually stored in a Chinese customs warehouse.
Once these products clear Chinese customs and are transported to North Korea, North Korean customs officials examine the packaging and instruction manuals to ensure that the products were not manufactured in South Korea and are not labeled in the South Korean dialect.
Products manufactured in China are sometimes labeled in Korean for export to South Korea. Because products labeled in fonts commonly used in South Korea are likely to be stopped at customs, importers are careful to destroy any manuals or packaging labeled in Korean before the products pass through Chinese customs.
Because Chinese customs officials have recently tightened controls on exports through Liaoning Province, North Korean authorities appear to be importing a significant amount of sanctioned products through Jilin Province instead.
In the past, the nexus of overland trade between North Korea and China was Dandong, Liaoning Province to Sinuiju, North Pyongan Province, but now large amounts of overland trade move through the corridors of Hunchun, Jilin Province to Wonjong Village, Rason, North Hamgyong Province, and Changbai County, Jilin Province and Hyesan, Yanggang Province.
The reason for shifting the main overland trade route from Dandong-Sinuiju to Hunchun-Rason and Changbai-Hyesan is that the Chinese customs officials in Dandong are very strict in inspecting goods imported into North Korea and also impose much higher taxes on the imported goods than the customs officials in Hunchun or Changbai.
In Dandong, both Chinese locals and foreigners can easily observe trains, trucks, and buses crossing the border into North Korea, making it fairly easy to determine what items North Korea is importing. Because the Chinese government wants to maintain the appearance of compliance with the sanctions regime, it monitors the export of sanctioned items through Dandong.
As a result, no sanctioned items are transported to North Korea on the Dandong-Sinuiju route, although freight trains and trucks frequently cross the border there. Most of the items entering North Korea through Dandong are reported to be non-sanctioned construction materials, as well as occasional small shipments of food.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.
Please send any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
