The planned opening of a large new bridge across the Yalu River connecting

Dandong in Liaoning Province with Sinuiju is likely to be delayed, Daily NK has learned. The cause of the delay is thought to be North Korea’s failure to make good on its contractual obligations.

“The Chosun

side took on the job of constructing the roads, but they are making painfully slow work of it. Because the roads are still not finished, people are wondering whether their initial aim of increasing trade volumes is on its way down the drain,” a source

close to the project told Daily NK on the 1st.

“China provided

a lot of materials and machinery to the North, but there is a story that this

machinery was sent for use on other projects rather than for the bridge construction. The

Chinese traders who did harbor high hopes for [economic] opening brought on by

the bridge are showing their disappointment more and more,” the source

explained.

The

partially complete New Amrok [Yalu] River Bridge is designed to connect Langtou

new city with south Sinuiju at a total cost of 2.22 billion RMB (approximately 357

million USD). It lies 8 km downstream from the ageing “Sino-Korean Friendship

Bridge” (formerly the Amrok [Yalu] River Bridge).

The old

bridge is currently the only one that connects the two cities, but, built in

1943, it is wholly unfit for purpose. Trucks that weigh more than 20 tons are not

allowed on it due to safety concerns, and it also has just one lane, which

restricts trade volumes. Traders had hoped that the new bridge would speed up commerce between the two cities, which account for 70% of bilateral trade

despite these structural limitations.

The

construction of the new bridge was officially proposed by China’s former Vice

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wu Dawei, when he visited North Korea in 2007. However, it was not until October 2009 that former Premier Wen Jiabao visited Pyongyang and sealed

the deal, under which China agreed to foot the bill for construction. The two

countries then finalized plans for the project in

February 2010, and the groundbreaking ceremony was held in December that

year.

The Chinese side has demonstrated its intent to see the completion of the

four-lane bridge, with its accompanying management, security and inspection

infrastructure.

“In accordance

with the plan, China has already got a customs office in place to administer

the flow of goods over the bridge,” the source revealed. “But the North has slowed right down, and the

talk of trade expansion from before has gone away.”

This

declining enthusiasm is tangible in the property market in Langtou, the region

of Dandong that ought to benefit the most from bilateral economic activity

across the new bridge. “Apartment prices remain where they were three years ago, at

roughly 4000 Yuan per pyeong,”

explained the source. Pyeong is a Korean unit of measuring area, and amounts to

3.305785m².

“The number

of people wanting to learn Korean in Dandong is still the same,” he admitted, “but that’s only

because they want to watch Korean dramas. They

have already given up on the idea of booming trade with North Korea since they

saw those who had been successful going to the wall after the execution of

Jang Song Taek.”

In addition

to problems with the bridge, Daily NK established in May that almost no progress

has been made on the development of two Special Economic Zones in the Sinuiju

area (see linked article).