Cross-border Business Ties

Lumps of Coal: How China’s Demand for Russia’s Natural Resources Affects North Korea Sanctions Enforcement

By | August 13, 2017

Anthony Rinna investigates the Russian role in the DPRK sanctions system, focusing on the country’s potential to export high-quality coal to China as a replacement for the DPRK.

Buckling Down in Dandong

By | May 14, 2017

As Xi Jinping waxes poetic at the “One Belt, One Road” summit in Beijing, we investigate messy realities in the the Chinese border city that would be the ideal hub for any North Korean participation.

Falling Short: Financial Sanctions and Sino-North Korean Border Trade

By | April 06, 2017

Kevin Gray interrogates the usefulness of financial sanctions against the DPRK, highlighting ways in which such sanctions impact the development of the licit and illicit border economies.

One Year On: KBS Sends a Helicopter over the Kaesong Industrial Complex

By | February 10, 2017

KBS sent a helicopter to hover just inside the southern side of the North-South border and take pictures of conditions in the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC) a year after the complex was closed. Christopher Green reproduces their photos and translates the commentary.

Targeting Northeastern Tigers: Xi Jinping’s Anti-Corruption Campaign in Liaoning

By | February 06, 2017

The Chinese Communist Party is in a state of tremendous ferment on the corruption issue. Surveying the mainland press for clues from Liaoning, Adam Cathcart assesses the campaign’s impact in a key border province.