North Korea, China move to reopen border trade

March 16 (Asia Today) -- Signs of improving relations between North Korea and China are emerging as the two countries appear to be moving toward restoring cross-border customs operations closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sources familiar with North Korean affairs said border customs facilities are gradually reopening, expanding trade and travel between the two neighbors.

A source said the Hoeryong customs office in North Korea resumed operations March 5, allowing individual visits from Chinese nationals that were previously limited to tightly controlled group travel.

Another source said the New Yalu River Bridge linking Sinuiju in North Korea and Dandong in China could open as early as May. Several other customs points along the border are also believed to have resumed operations.

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The developments follow the recent resumption of passenger train service between the two countries and plans to restore commercial flights between Pyongyang and Beijing.

Observers say exchanges between North Korea and China could soon return to levels seen before the pandemic.

Radio Free Asia reported Thursday that Chinese-made goods including generators and batteries have begun entering North Korea after customs restrictions were eased.

Some analysts also suggest that renewed cooperation between Beijing and Pyongyang may be linked to reports of possible forced repatriation cases involving North Korean defectors in China.

South Korea's Ministry of Unification said it could not confirm the developments but is closely monitoring the situation.

North Korea shut down most border crossings with China at the start of the pandemic in 2020 and has since gradually reopened them in stages.

Freight train operations between Sinuiju and Dandong resumed in 2022. Limited tourism-related travel was later permitted in the Rajin-Sonbong region around 2024.

The national airline Air Koryo has also operated flights between Pyongyang and Beijing since 2023.

Analysts say the recent warming of ties may stem partly from diplomatic contacts last year when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended China's Victory Day commemoration and held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Some observers believe both countries are strengthening cooperation to improve their negotiating leverage with Donald Trump ahead of possible diplomatic engagement with the United States.

Cho Han-beom, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said fluctuations in relations between Beijing and Pyongyang in recent years reflected strategic considerations and diplomatic tensions.

"In the end, the trajectory suggests North Korea-China relations are returning to their pre-pandemic level," Cho said.

-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260317010004758