One of the government agencies of the Republic of Korea (ROK), controlled by the ROK Ministry of Unification, wants to open an office in China to oversee cooperation with North Korea. The office would be located in a Chinese city near the China-North Korea border. Experts, however, questioned the feasibility of such an office.
South Korean media reported on the plan to open an office of inter-Korean cooperation in China, citing anonymous sources in the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to the information received by journalists, the office is to be opened by the Association for Support of Inter-Korean Exchanges and Cooperation, which is under the control of the ministry.
The representative office will most likely appear in the city of Dandong, located on the PRC-DPRK border, directly opposite the North Korean city of Sinuiju. Dandong and Siniju are separated by a border river that is crossed by the Friendship Bridge. This bridge used to carry over 70 percent of North Korea’s total trade with the outside world in “pre-coronavirus times. Therefore, some called it the “bridge of life” for the Juche Country. Dandong, on the other hand, was home to North Korean organizations, companies, and government agencies that were engaged in trade with China. In addition, the city itself is quite large and has the most developed infrastructure on the China-North Korea border, so if there is anywhere to open an office with the goal of working with North Korea, Dandong is probably the best candidate.
Discussion about this post