N. Korea: Despite danger, traffic temporarily resumes on Sino-NK bridge

The Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, connecting China’s Dandong and North Korea’s Sinuiju, has been shut down after damage sustained over a protracted period of time caused a truck to flip over. However, with only a number of days left until the Korean Workers' Party foundation celebration, traffic was temporarily resumed on September 30th, Daily NK has learned.

“Today (September 30th) they resumed traffic just for one day so that North Korean traders can bring in supplies for the event after a truck crashed because of the damage on Monday,” a source from North Pyongan Province told Daily NK.

Officials have banned entry from October 1 to 4 so that they can restore the bridge, but facing urgent preparation for the Party’s 70th Foundation Day festivities, they put down steel plates as a temporary fix to get truck loads of supplies through, the source explained.

“The accident has thrown customs offices on either side of the border into mad panic,” she added. “Cadres from both customs services surveyed the site of the accident and put things into motion, so construction work is now underway.”

Starting at 8 p.m. on the day of the accident, train services were up and running, but the battered roads with deep crevices were covered with makeshift steel plates by North Korean workers, allowing vehicles that had entered Sinuiju to return to Dandong. Reconstruction work is currently being carried out by Chinese workers, according to the source.

The source speculated that the project will be finalized by October 5, opening up the bridge for a massive trade of goods, leading up to the Party celebration, which will fall on the 10th.

Another news from NK:

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2015/10/01/2015100101234.html

N.Korean Diplomats Desperate as Party Anniversary Looms

North Korean diplomats are under growing stress because most foreign dignitaries have turned down invitations to the Workers Party's 70th anniversary on Oct. 10.

If stationed overseas, the diplomats have had to redouble their efforts to earn hard currency as the regime is in desperate need of funds for the extravaganza, a government source here said Wednesday.

Early this year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered officials to invite any senior figures from abroad to the party anniversary, according to the source. But almost none have bitten, not even in nominally allied countries.

Contrary to their earlier promise, former Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri and senior Vietnamese apparatchik Ngo Van Du have reportedly canceled their scheduled visit.

In Cuba, Leopoldo Cintra Frias, the armed forces minister, has not yet responded to the invitation.

Antonio Razzi, an Italian senator who has visited the North several times, has reportedly declined the invitation for fear that he would be taken advantage of by the regime's propaganda machine.

In Beijing, a diplomatic source said, "With only 10 days left before the anniversary, I haven't heard that China has received a formal invitation." It is unclear whether that is linked to China's firm opposition to another North Korean long-range missile test.

"During the UN General Assembly session, Chinese President Xi Jinping openly warned the North against any provocations," the source added. "China would lose face if the North did go ahead with a missile launch while a senior Chinese official is in the country."

North Korean diplomats including Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong (far right) listen as South Korean President Park Geun-hye addresses the 70th session of the UN General Assembly at UN headquarters on Monday. /AP-Newsis

Meanwhile, North Korean diplomats are increasingly involved in smuggling in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Back in March, a North Korean diplomat was caught attempting to smuggle 27 kg of gold bars through airport customs in Bangladesh. In April, a North Korean diplomat and his wife were arrested for getting involved in illegal whiskey deals in Pakistan. And in May, a North Korean diplomat in Mozambique was arrested for trying to smuggle out 4.6 kg of rhinoceros horn but was released on bail.

North Korean diplomats in Latin America are reportedly involved in black-market sales of Cuban cigars.

"North Korean trade officials with diplomatic passports have always been engaged in earning hard currency for the regime by illegal means," the source said. "But now even senior career diplomats are getting involved because the regime is desperate to raise funds as the party anniversary comes closer."

The regime is threatening to ground diplomats or trade officials if they do not bring enough money home.

A defector who used to work at a North Korean embassy in the eastern Europe in the late 2000s, said, "While Kim Jong-il was alive, the regime extorted about $100 million from North Korean workers stationed overseas each year. But the amount has doubled since Kim Jong-un took power."

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