Over the border: What Dandong means to N. Korea



Analysis Over the border: What Dandong means to N. Korea ‘Unremarkable’ Chinese city holds historical and present-day significance for its neighbors Andrei Lankov August 31, 2015 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON SinoKorea Friendship Bridge - serapio [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons At a cursory glance, the Chinese city of Dandong is quite unremarkable; just one of many medium-sized cities to be found in China. It has its fair share of slums dating to the first half of the last century, not to mention its share of skyscrapers that play host to a Chinese nouveau riche doing their best at imitating their Western middle class counterparts. For the student of North Korea, however, this place is vital, and is potentially a veritable gold mine. This is, after all, the major channel for goods, money, intelligence and knowledge flowing in and out of North Korea. Dandong, together with the North Korean city of Sinuiju on the opposite bank of the Yalu/Amnok river, serves as North Korea’s major entry port to China and, broader speaking, the entire outside world. At a cursory glance, the Chinese city of Dandong is quite unremarkable; just one of many medium-sized cities to be found in China. It has its fair share of slums dating to the first half of the last century, not to mention its share of skyscrapers that play host to a Chinese nouveau riche doing their best at imitating their Western middle class counterparts. For the student of North Korea, however, this place is vital, and is potentially a veritable gold mine. This is, after all, the major channel for goods, money, intelligence and knowledge flowing in and out of North Korea. Dandong, together with the North Korean city of Sinuiju on the opposite bank of the Yalu/Amnok river, serves as North Korea’s major entry port to China and, broader speaking, the entire outside world. Become a member for less than $5.75 per week. Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations, analysis The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in the loop Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting, investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts. Subscribe now All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time. © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by And how should we address you in correspondence? One more step! Please check your inbox, for an email we just sent you, and click on the confirmation message in it to get subscribed to our Daily News Update. Trending

Analysis

Over the border: What Dandong means to N. Korea

‘Unremarkable’ Chinese city holds historical and present-day significance for its neighbors

Andrei Lankov August 31, 2015

Over the border: What Dandong means to N. Korea

SinoKorea Friendship Bridge - serapio [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

At a cursory glance, the Chinese city of Dandong is quite unremarkable; just one of many medium-sized cities to be found in China. It has its fair share of slums dating to the first half of the last century, not to mention its share of skyscrapers that play host to a Chinese nouveau riche doing their best at imitating their Western middle class counterparts.

For the student of North Korea, however, this place is vital, and is potentially a veritable gold mine. This is, after all, the major channel for goods, money, intelligence and knowledge flowing in and out of North Korea. Dandong, together with the North Korean city of Sinuiju on the opposite bank of the Yalu/Amnok river, serves as North Korea’s major entry port to China and, broader speaking, the entire outside world.