Chinese Foreign Relations
One More for the Road? New Masterplan for the Sinuiju Special Economic Zone
This week’s closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex highlights how arduous economic exchange with the DPRK can be. China knows this well. Keen to develop its own northeast, Beijing has been throwing money and heft at the borderland all century long. The latest bilateral step? Théo Clément heads to Dandong to investigate.
Dead on Arrival? Taking Trade Notes in Dandong
Which North Koreans turned up in the Chinese city of Dandong for a recent trade fair? And does this event represent a real stabilization or upgrade in bilateral relations? Sino-NK reads the sources.
The New Normal: Liu Yunshan in Pyongyang
Sino-NK analyses officially-depicted meetings of a high-level Chinese delegation in Pyongyang, placing emphasis on the role of North Korean interlocutors.
Cold Comfort for the Women: Japanese Military Culture and Local Collaboration
Finding new pathways through the disputes over Japanese-Korean history is delicate work. Mary Finch, in a guest essay, looks at fraught questions of collaboration, ideology, and the comfort women.
Does a New Ambassador Mean a “Reset” In China-North Korea Relations?
With a deep dive into Beijing’s internal bureaucratic politics and Li Jinjun’s predecessors in Pyongyang, Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga sheds light on China’s evolving stance toward North Korea.