North Koreans in Sinuiju who have been engaged in processing work are facing economic difficulties as Chinese processing orders have significantly decreased compared to last year.
According to a Daily NK source in North Pyongan province recently, trade with China led by the North Pyongan province’s trade bureau and Sinuiju’s trade department has shrunk, drastically reducing offshore processing trade—where raw materials are imported from China, processed within North Korea, and finished products are sent back to China.
Sinuiju in North Pyongan province, which borders Dandong in China’s Liaoning province across the Yalu River, serves as the hub for North Korea-China overland trade and was one of the regions with the most processing work. However, work has now significantly decreased, leaving many people struggling to make ends meet.
“Processing work commissioned by China was an important source of income for residents, even though the unit prices were low,” said the source. “With this work declining, many people are finding life so difficult they can’t even buy essential consumer goods.”
Until last year, there were processing orders for various handcrafted items including knitted decorations, hats, lanterns, and floral decorations, raising expectations that the processing industry might recover to pre-COVID levels. However, contrary to expectations, this year’s order volume is significantly lower than last year’s.
Desperate for any work
North Koreans who have been making a living through processing work are expressing hopes that “any kind of work would be welcome, even if the pay is low.”
“Originally, processing work commissioned by China paid about 15 yuan per day (approximately $2.10 USD), but many people say they’d be happy with just 7-8 yuan (about $1.00-1.10 USD) if only some work would come in,” the source said. “Some people even say they’d take work that pays 3 yuan (about $0.40 USD) a day.”
According to the source, demand for Chinese-commissioned processing work remains high because many people don’t receive proper living wages even when they go to their regular jobs.
“The very fact that you can work and receive payment is a great help here,” the source explained. “Handcraft processing work doesn’t pay much, but if you do it whenever you have time, it helps with household finances, so it’s the kind of work people want.”
In the past, household processing workshops flourished in the Sinuiju area, where locals directly served as work supervisors and operated workshops. However, most of these “household workshops” have now disappeared.
“Currently, processing work is mainly centered around export clothing factories and state-level export processing units,” the source said. “It’s unclear when individual processing work that people can participate in independently will recover.”
