Cross-border Business Ties
Go East, Young Man! DPRK Seeks Russian Tourists Leery of the Middle East
Amidst the nuclear explosions and industrial complex shutdowns, it is easy to forget that some institutions in the DPRK are actually trying to attract people from abroad, not push them away. Russia and Eurasia Analyst Anthony Rinna returns with a timely translation from the original Russian.
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.
Rhetoric vs Reality: 5.24 and North Korean Workers in Dandong
In response to sanctions on South Korean business and Pyongyang’s will to export more labor, the focus of inter-Korean exchange has shifted to the city of Dandong, “another Kaesong Industrial Complex,” according to anthropologist Kang Ju-won. Christopher Green looks at Kang’s recent article on Pressian.
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.
Yongusil 78: Borderland Flows and The Capitalist Unconscious
An audio recording of a recent Sino-NK workshop surveys reinterpretions of Chinese-Korean history and economic interaction in the borderland, using fieldwork, and an important new text as touchstones.
Yongusil 77: Reconfiguring Histories in the Borderland: A Workshop in Leeds
With Hyun Ok Park’s new book as a point of departure, Adam Cathcart and Christopher Green will assess the depth of interconnectivity between and among states, cities, ethnicities, and capital in the border region.
From the Borderland to Beijing: Chinese Civilian Shot in Changbai
A number of incidents involving North Korean soldiers in the Sino-NK borderland have recently been reported in the South Korean and Chinese media. Christopher Green takes a closer look at one of them from the Korean perspective.
Criticizing the “Low-Key” Approach: Chinese Responses to the DPRK Soldier-Murderer in Yanbian
Is the PRC media response to the death of four Chinese civilians by a hungry North Korean deserter evidence of policy change, or just business as usual? Adam Cathcart looks at the evidence.
Friends in Need: Choe Swoops in on DPRK-Russia Relations
On Monday, Korean Workers’ Party Secretary Choe Ryong-hae will embark upon an extended visit to Russia as a special representative of the Kim government. In this, his debut essay for Sino-NK, analyst Anthony Rinna looks at the potential of the visit, and its limitations.
