Yonhap:
10/19/2006
China has closed three customs offices in northeastern China that handle trade with North Korea following Pyongyang’s nuclear test on Oct. 9, a report by the Communist Party-owned Global Times said Thursday.
The daily said the closures involved border offices in Donggang and Shanghekou, both in Liaoning Province, and one in the city of Tumen, in Jilin Province. Before the actions were taken, Beijing formally operated a total of four customs points with its neighbor.
It said at present only the customs point of Dandong, facing the North’s border city of Shinuiju across the Amnok River, was open to handle bilateral trade.
The paper also said that as of Tuesday, the number of vehicles coming over to Dandong stood at under three, compared to between 20 and 30 in the past.
The Global Times did not say if the closure or lack of vehicle traffic is due to the tensions surrounding North Korea’s nuclear weapons test. It added that Chinese merchants have started to ask for money in advance before shipping goods to North Korea, which is different from past practices when the delivery was sometimes made in advance of payment.
China, which is one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, signed off on a resolution last week authorizing economic sanctions to be imposed on North Korea. Pyongyang had disregarded warnings by Beijing not to test its nuclear device, which has raised speculation that the close ties that existed between them may have become frayed.
Related to the strained business ties, another Chinese weekly magazine claimed that a Chinese bank that provides funds to construction firms has stopped transactions with North Korea’s trade bank starting this year. The United States had been urging financial institutions around the world not to make transactions with North Korea that could help that country’s illicit trade and alleged money-laundering practices.
Another Chinese newspaper claimed that authorities have tightened their inspection of all cargo leaving North Korea since last week.
