North Korea construction project indicates reopening of border with China

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North Korea is converting an air base near its border into a disinfection facility for rail containers, a move analysts say could restart trade with China and undermine US hopes that economic pressure could force Pyongyang back to the nuclear negotiating table.

Satellite images from the Center for Strategic and International Studies seen by the Financial Times reveal a construction project in Uiju, near North Korea’s northwest border with China, after two years of isolation and economic conflict.

North Korea closed its land borders with China and Russia in January 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, leading to a mass exodus of foreign aid workers and diplomats. After that, the country conducted only limited trade by sea with China, by far its largest trading partner.

North Korea is also struggling with the effects of international sanctions and a food crisis, following poor harvests and crop failures from heat waves and flash floods.

The system maintains that it has not recorded any cases of Covid-19, a claim that international health experts have not been able to verify because they have been prevented from providing aid or vaccines.

“The length and completeness of the lockdown is a reflection of the extent of the mortal fear [Pyongyang is] “In this context, this effort to set up a quarantine facility shows how desperate they are to open a certain level of trade, because they cannot stay closed for much longer,” said Victor Cha, head of Korea at CSIS.

The disinfection facility is located at Uiju Air Base, across the border from Dandong, a city in northeastern China and North Korea’s main access point for trade © CSIS/Beyond Parallel/Maxar 2021

Despite reports of chronic hunger across the country, the Kim regime has baffled observers by enduring economic isolation far more than was imagined under an international sanctions regime designed to force Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear and weapons programs.

“There have been no more effective sanctions on the North Korean regime than this shutdown, and this calls into question the premise that pressing it as hard as we can with sanctions will somehow make it more flexible for denuclearization,” Cha said.

South Korea has been lobbying the United States to support sanctions relief, while China and Russia recently circulated a draft proposal at the United Nations Security Council calling for sanctions relief.

“If you believe in sanctions, these photos show you that the window of communication with the West may be closed,” Cha added. “As they get more help from China, the pressure on the regime will begin to release.”

Work on the conversion of the Yeoju base began in March after North Korean authorities passed an import disinfection law to create a “system and arrangement for the disinfection of imports at border crossing points.”

A satellite image of Oigo Air Force Base in November 2019. . . . . . and in October 2021, with the addition of new warehouse facilities and rail connections © CSIS / Beyond Parallel / Maxar 2021

“Trade via the sea route has been going on for months, but if you have trains crossing the border and going to this facility every day, you can run trains from there down to Pyongyang, which leads to a more frequent flow of imports,” said Colin Zwerko, senior analyst at NK Pro information service based in Seoul.

He added that it appears that the North Korean authorities are building similar facilities along the border with Russia.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service recently told lawmakers that Pyongyang is working with China and Russia to resume cross-border rail transport, according to parliamentarians who attended the briefing.

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