North Korean imports from China recently climbed for the first time this year and began rising back to levels last seen in Sept. 2020. Rumor has it that the border — which has been largely shut since April of last year — will reopen by the end of next month and that the country’s trade companies are on standby. Russia’s Ambassador to the DPRK said it himself, and NK News has also reported on other possible indicators that foreign goods made it into Pyongyang in March.

An uptick in imports generally points to the North Korean border imminently