[앵커]
In North Korea, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 omicron mutation.
Dandong, China, North Korea’s largest trading hub, is also under lockdown due to the spread of Corona 19, raising the possibility of trade disruptions between North Korea and China, including prolonged suspension of freight trains.
Correspondent Jinbang Kim from Beijing reports.
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Dandong City, Liaoning Province, China, bordering North Korea over a bridge over the Yalu River.
On the 25th of last month, the city was completely shut down after the outbreak of COVID-19.
The freight train between Dandong and Sinuiju, which resumed operation after a year and a half, also stopped again on the 29th of last month.
“China has decided to temporarily suspend freight (train) operations between Dandong and Sinuiju after friendly discussions between the two sides due to the Dandong Corona 19 incident.”
Fortunately, as the spread of Dandong has subsided since the 8th, the possibility of resuming freight train operation with the lifting of the lockdown in the middle of this month has been raised.
However, it has become difficult to predict when the train will resume operations as a number of people infected with the coronavirus in North Korea and the authorities tighten the border lockdown.
In January 2020, when the corona virus was spreading in China, North Korea completely blocked the border between North Korea and China, including issuing visas for foreigners and suspending passenger trains, and in August of that year also suspended freight trains.
Afterwards, as the economic hardship worsened, train service resumed in January. In the first quarter of this year, North Korea-China trade amounted to $ 196.89 million, a tenfold increase compared to the same period last year.
There is also the possibility of a disruption in maritime trade between North Korea and China due to the outbreak of the North Korean coronavirus.
North Korea, which has suspended overland trade, has relied on small ships to and from Nampo Port and Longkou Port in Shandong Province to secure necessary supplies.
Meanwhile, state-run media, such as CCTV in China, quickly reported the occurrence of an infected person in North Korea.
North Korea has notified the World Health Organization that there are no confirmed cases, and it is known that only two countries in the world that have not started vaccination are North Korea and Eritrea in Africa.
The Washington Post reported last month that “Corona-related restrictions appear to have stopped the epidemic in North Korea, but they appear to have come at a significant cost, including broader health and economic deprivation.”
This is Jinbang Kim from Yonhap News in Beijing.
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