North Korean ships were unusually active in the month of April, amid a spate of media reports suggesting that foreign goods had reappeared on Pyongyang store shelves after months of imported food shortages.

Last month, at least 27 North Korea-linked ships visited Chinese ports and traversed the narrow Korea Strait that bridges North Korea’s east and west coasts. According to NK Pro analysis of Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, only one vessel — the Ja Song 2 — was observed traveling to Dalian, a Chinese port that contains international aid that has been backlogged for months.

The Nampho-Dalian