North Korea has opened a consulate branch office in Dandong, a major Chinese city bordering North Korea, displaying its intention to reinforce bilateral trade relations with China, Yonhap News reported quoting a source Sunday.
"The North Korean consulate-general in Shenyang recently established its branch office in Dandong and dispatched personnel there," said the source.
"The move signals the North's intention to increase its product procurement from China through brisker border trade and strengthen its consular affairs amid a growing North Korean population in the Chinese border city."
Dandong, a city in the Chinese province of Liaoning, is situated right across the Yalu River from Sinuiju in the northwestern part of North Korea. Approximately 70 percent of trade between North Korea and China is conducted through the Dandong-Sinuiju route.
According to the source, the North Korean consulate branch office is the first foreign diplomatic mission to open in Dandong, which has a population of about 650,000.
Bilateral trade and cooperation via Dandong are expected to further grow as China and North Korea are to celebrate the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2009 and launch a joint "Year of Friendship." Two-way trade is estimated to have topped $2 billion last year.
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