North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has issued a blanket order

affecting the entire country, including all members of the military and the

Party, to contribute to flood damage restoration efforts continuing into the

month of October. North Korean enterprises operating in China have been ordered

to send designated allotments of relief supplies to the effort.

As a direct result of the order, trade between North Korea

and China is still alive and well in the border region, despite the recent

scandal surrounding a Chinese conglomerate. Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development

is under investigation by the Chinese authorities for “serious economic crimes”

including the export of nuclear weapons materials into North Korea.

On September 30, a source in China spoke with Daily NK,

saying, “In the northeast regions of China in places like Longjing (which

shares the Tumen River as a common boundary across from North Korea’s Onsong

County), vehicles are crossing the border on a daily basis. The vehicles are

bumper-to-bumper on the Chinese side, queueing to pass through North Korean

customs.”

When asked about trade activity, the source explained, “Ever

since China began investigations into the Hongxiang Group of companies, the

larger trade companies that deal with North Korea have become a little more

wary. Most of the Chinese trading companies in this region have some kind of

relationship with North Korean businesses. The international sanctions have not

yet had much of an impact on these dealings.”

“North Korean company representatives continue to pour into

the region in search of contacts and businesses to make deals. These traders

are required to remit large ‘loyalty fee’ commissions to the central party. That

makes them quite eager to establish relationships with Chinese businesses. If

not for China, where would they go?” the source surmised.

“These days, business managers in North Korean enterprises

in China are saying that they must procure large quantities of relief supplies.

The situation appears to be quite grave,” reported a different source from the

Chinese border city of Dandong, who spoke with Daily NK on September 28.

The Dandong source continued, “We are not sure about the

specifics, but we do know that Kim Jong Un has issued orders to all of these

managers to secure relief supplies. So they’re reaching out to all their

contacts in China and making personal visits to try and collect any available

supplies.”

In particular, “They are approaching merchants that they’ve

known for a long time and saying, ‘Please give me everything that people need

for survival.’ By this they mean food, tents, blankets, medicine, and shoes,

etc. Long underwear is also being provided in anticipation of the chilly autumn

and winter seasons,” the source added.

Daily NK has recently been informed that some of these

materials are being distributed to flood-stricken families in sets, composed of

items such as clothes and utensils. In their haste to respond, the North Korean

authorities are providing sets composed of different items to different people.

“We can also see loaded trucks on the streets of Pyongyang –

bound for the flood-stricken regions,” the source concluded.