UPDATE 1 (2013-1-18): According to the Daily NK:
The number of North Koreans visiting China legally reached a record high of 180,600 in 2012, an 18% increase over the 2011 figure of 152,300.
Radio Free Asia released the news today, citing Chinese statistics. According to the report, the most common reason for the visits was ‘employment’ (79,600, 44%) followed by ‘business’ (55,200, 31%).
The number visiting China for ‘business’ increased by roughly 10,900 over the 2011 figure, while the number of those visiting for ‘employment’ increased by 4,300.
According to RFA, “This is because of the greater number of exchanges and joint ventures going on between North Korea and China in the economic sector.”
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Elsewhere in the statistics, 4,500 (2.5%) North Koreans also visited China last year for purposes of tourism and leisure, and 200 (0.1%) went to visit friends and relatives.
Read the full story here:
Legal North Korean Visitor Numbers Rise
Daily NK
Jeong Dae Sung
2013-1-18
ORIGINAL POST (2012-4-24): Number of visitors up in first quarter of 2012. According to Yonhap (via Korea Times):
The number of North Koreans visiting China in the first three months of the year surged more than 40 percent from a year ago, with the majority arriving for employment or business purposes, a report said Tuesday.
A total of 40,200 North Koreans visited the neighboring country in the first quarter, up 40.5 percent on-year, according to the Voice of America, which quoted data from the China National Tourism Administration.
About half, or 19,300 visitors, were seeking work in China’s manufacturing and dining industries, while another 10,800 visitors arrived for business purposes, the report said. Only 1,100 North Koreans toured China for sightseeing.
By age group, 19,100 visitors were aged between 45 and 64, followed by 17,200 people who were aged between 25 and 44.
Ferries transported the highest number of passengers at 17,400, while 9,300 people traveled by automobile.
The number of male visitors came to 33,200, or 83 percent of the total, far exceeding the number of females.
The data did not include defectors or other North Korean visitors who arrived by unofficial means, the report said.
See a report of North Korean visitors to China in 2011 here.
Read the full story here:
NK visitors to China swell in first quarter
Yonhap (via Korea Times)
2012-4-24
