China is reportedly increasing cross-border trades with North Korea, a move seen as a warning to both South Korea and the United States.
According to Leer Jong-seok, a senior researcher at Sejong Institute, trade across the border between China and North Korea has once again increased after experiencing a brief decline in April and May. Lee added that the Chinese border city of Dandong is preparing to further increase its trade activities with the other side, as well as boost border tourism, UPI reported.
Lee has been closely monitoring activity at the China-North Korea border and noted that there is also an increase in the number of North Korean workers moving into China. The researcher said that such increase marks a renewed commitment by both local Chinese officials and businesses to tap into North Korean labor for economic development.
There is currently around 30,000 North Korean laborers in the city of Dandong alone, while the city of Tumen in the Yambian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province employs 20,000, with about 4,000 working in businesses related to shipbuilding and construction.
Lee also speculated that China might also be providing electricity to the North Korean city of Hyesan across the border, as he said that residents are now keeping their lights on longer at night and there are new homes being built in the area.
The increased trade being initiated by China with North Korea is seen by experts as a warning against the South and the US. According to Jeff Kingston of the Temple University's Japan campus-based Asian Studies department, China's message is clear that, if the international community wants the country to cooperate in keeping the North's military ambitions in check, it has to also accommodate China's interest.
Along with the increase in trade between China and north Korea, trade between the former and the South has also reportedly decreased.
China heavily criticized South Korea's and the US' plans to deploy the latter's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system, saying that, while both parties claim that it will only be used to deter the North, it could also possibly be used against Beijing.
However, Chinese experts were quick to counter that the increased China-North Korea relations have nothing t6o do with the THAAD issue, the Global Times reported.
According to Lu Chao, a research fellow at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, the increase in trade is largely a product of the continuing economic demand of the region.
Meanwhile, Zhao Liangui a professor of the CPC Central Committee's Party School specializing on Korean Peninsula issues stressed that, while China vehemently opposes South Korea's THAAD deployment plans, it has also actively opposed the North's nuclear program, as it is also a threat to the country's security.