Dozens of North Korean female workers out for a walk at Mount Kumgang Park in Dandong, Liaoning Province, China, on the morning of May 18. (©The Daily NK)
Chinese authorities are thoroughly inspecting the personal baggage of North Korean workers as they return home, preventing them from bringing even small home electronics like electric rice cookers back to North Korea.
According to a Daily NK source in China recently, the customs office in Dandong, Liaoning province, has intensified inspections of North Korean workers’ personal belongings when leaving China since early March. Previously, workers could bring two electronic items such as rice cookers, laptops, or small televisions, but this month they haven’t been allowed to bring any electronic items at all.
Unaware of this change, some North Korean workers who attempted to return with electronics reportedly had their items confiscated at Chinese customs or hurriedly left their belongings with North Korean officials still in China. Many workers encountered problems returning home because authorities failed to properly inform them about the electronics ban.
Just last year, Dandong customs didn’t strictly inspect the personal baggage of returning North Korean workers. This leniency allowed North Korean trade officials to place luxury clothes, shoes, bags, and electronics like laptops in workers’ personal luggage to send to North Korea.
This practice developed because officials couldn’t send luxury items or electronics subject to international sanctions through regular cargo channels, as Chinese customs conducts extremely rigorous inspections on cargo passing from Dandong to Sinuiju, North Korea. The relatively relaxed inspections of workers’ personal baggage created a loophole that North Korean trade officials exploited.
However, with Dandong customs now inspecting and restricting North Korean workers’ baggage to prevent electronics from leaving China, both the workers themselves and North Korean trade officials have been caught off guard.
In this situation, North Korean trade officials in China believe they can no longer send any sanctioned items to North Korea through Dandong because Chinese authorities continue to intensify customs inspections between Dandong and Sinuiju.
As a result, North Korean trade officials are now sending electronics and luxury goods through Hunchun or Changbai in Jilin province, where Chinese customs conduct relatively relaxed inspections on items going to North Korea via the Hunchun-Rason and Changbai-Hyesan routes.
“Electronics, machinery, equipment, and high-end industrial goods are all being shipped to North Korea through Jilin province,” the source said. “Because customs inspections are more rigorous on the Dandong-Sinuiju route for the same items, trade officials avoid sending things through Dandong whenever possible.”
In Dandong, trains or trucks traveling to or from North Korea are often visible, making it easy for observers to track details or trends in North Korea-China trade. Aware that the world is watching how they implement international sanctions, Chinese authorities conduct strict inspections at Dandong customs on items bound for North Korea.
“The ban on North Korean workers bringing even electric rice cookers home reflects China’s firm intention to prevent sanctioned items from reaching North Korea, regardless of circumstances,” the source said. “I expect trade through Dandong will decline even further.”
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