압록강을 중심으로 형성된,북중 국경도시, Dandong시는 몇개월 전까지만 해도, 경제가 잘 돌아가 밤에도 휘황찬란한 불빛이 밝혀지고, 살아움직이는, 사람사는 도시였었다.
지난 수십년간, 이단둥시는 중국의 눈부신 경제 발전에 힘입어, 오늘의 북한정권이 있게한 중심축역활을 하면서, 북한의 경제회전에 동맥역활을 해준 도시였었다. 그러나 지금은 이도시가 폐허가 돼기 직전에 직면하여 그곳에서 경제활동했던 사람들은 idling하고 있다고한다.
단둥시내의 "고려인거리"에는 한때는 북한에서 파견된 관원들과 음식점들이 성업을 해서, 벌어들인 자금이 김정은집단의 돈줄역활을 했었지만, 지금은 할일이 없어 담배 피우는일로 시간을 죽이고 있을 정도로 활동이 없다는 것이다.
그이유는, 북한의 김정은 정권이 핵무기개발과 대륙간 탄도미사일 개발하는데, 젖줄역활을 한
단둥시에 봉쇄조치를 해서 북한의 경제적 목을 조여야 한다는, Trump대통령의 압력에 시진핑이 동조한것으로 이해된다. 더두고 봐야 할 민감한 사활이 걸린문제 이기에.
정작 북한의 불법핵실험과 대륙간 탄도미사일개발을 저지하는데, 그중심축에 서 있어야할 한국은, 이러한 UN정책과는 반대의 길로 방향을 틀고 달려온지는 벌써 1년이 돼간다. 즉 문통정부가 청와대 입성이후, 한반도의 평화와 안보균형관계를 유지시켜온,미국을 포함한 동맹국들과 삐딱선을 타고, 북한으로 돈을 보내기위해 갖은 방법을 다 동원해왔고, 얼마전에는 주사파대부 임종석을 레바논으로 보내 그곳에서 엄청난 자금을 북괴에 보냈다는 비밀아닌 비밀이 공공연히 SNS상에서 떠돌고 있는데도, 아무런 대꾸도 하지 않고 있다.
요즘은 북한을 동계올림픽에 참여 시키기위해, 주적 북괴군들의 공격을 막아내기위해 60만대군이 두눈 부릅뜨고 주야로 휴전선을 지키고 있는 병사들을 무장해제 시키고 그중앙에 커다란 대문을 만들어, 천안함 폭침을 총지휘한자들을 포함한 김정은 Regime의 심복들이 자기네들 마음데로 휴전선을 포함하여 남한 전역을 들락날락하게 하고있는 문통정부를 보면서 간담이 서늘해지는것은 어찌 나만의 느낌일수 있을까?
지금 스위스 Davos에서는 Trump대통령을 포함한 세계각국의 정상들이 보좌관들 대동하고 참석하여 세계경제난제들을 협의하고 있다. 한국의 문통은 그시간에 밀양 병원화재현장에서 얼굴 보여준것으로 봐서, 참석안한것이 분명하기에, 대신 누가 파견됐는지 자료를 뒤져봤었다. 얼굴마담격으로 강경화 장관이 참석했다는 자료를 봤다. 경제전문 보좌관들이 같이 참석했다는 내용은 한줄도 없었다. 장관이 기조연설했다는 뉴스나 자료도 없었다. 여기서도 각국 정상들은 북괴에 대해서는 더 강력한 경제봉쇄정책으로 핵개발, 대륙간탄도미사일 발사를 절대적으로 막아야 한다라고 성토를 하고 있었다.
앞으로 한국은 누구와 얼굴 맞대고 안보와 경제를 포함한 제반문제들을 협의해야 할까? 이승만 대통령이 대한민국을 창건한 이후로 오늘에 이르기까지 유지해왔던 미국과 일본으로 부터 동맹국으로서의 지위를 박탈(?)당했고, 북괴의 혈맹인 중국으로 부터는 노골적으로 한국이 어느쪽에 서야 앞으로 살아갈수 있는지를, 중국에 국빈초청받아 갔었던 문통에게 혼밥먹게해주는 하인대접과, 진출해 있는 한국기업들에게 노골적으로 방해 공작을 펴서 결국 문을 닫게까지하면서, 확실히 하라고 협박을 당하고 있는 문통정부다.
문통정부는 미국의 정책에는 반대 목소리를 내면서도, 중국과 북한의 노골적인 위협에는 한마디의 반론도 못하고, 하인이 주인에게 굽실거리듯, 저자세로 일관하고 있다. 미국의 압력에 시진핑도, 국경도시 단둥시의 빗장을 걸어잠그고 경제적 봉쇄를 하는 반응을 하고 있는데....
할아버지의 사랑을 받는 손자가 버릇없이 할버지의 수염을 잡고 흔드는것 까지는 애교로 봐줄수 있을지 몰라도, 더나아가 콧수염까지 뽑을려고 할때는 귀싸대기를 맞을수 밖에 없음을, 문통정부는 마음에 새겨 두어야 한다. 더늦기전에...
원문 기사를 옮겨 놓았다.
Empty shops. Failing businesses. And bored North Korean officials drinking their days away.
These are the stories being told on the streets of Dandong -- a gritty, frozen city on the banks of the Yalu River, which separates China and North Korea.
For decades, Dandong has been a key trading hub that helped the North Korean regime cash in on China's spectacular economic rise. But now it's suffering as President Trump, alarmed by the rapid development of Kim Jong Un's nuclear weapons program, presses Chinese President Xi Jinping to squeeze North Korea's sources of revenue.
Conversations last week with traders, store owners and Dandong residents with ties to North Korea painted a picture of a local economy showing signs of severe stress. Most of the people who talked to CNN suggested the most recent U.N. sanctions against North Korea could deal a devastating blow to an already struggling region.
None were willing to speak on the record for fear of reprisal. Speaking to foreign news organizations about the sensitive China-North Korea relationship in general -- and the impact of recent sanctions in particular -- can bring repercussions, economic and otherwise, from Chinese government officials.
It's all about the sanctions
We spoke with Mr. Liao, a chain-smoking Dandong businessman, near the river. He requested that CNN not use his real name.
"In the beginning, I was importing coal from North Korea," he said, through a haze of smoke. "But then China banned coal imports last year."
In early September, China said it stopped processing North Korean coal shipments in order to implement sanctions passed by the U.N. Security Council in August.
Liao's attempts to shift his business into other commodities quickly failed.
"Mineral products, seafood, agricultural products -- basically all imports have been banned," he said. "I told myself, I'm toast."
Liao's list includes several key revenue sources for North Korea that were targeted by three different rounds of sanctions in 2017. On top of bans on goods, restrictions were also placed on everything from North Korean laborers working overseas to joint ventures with North Korean companies.
The cumulative effect in Dandong has been dramatic and swift, according to several business owners who spoke to CNN.
"I'm in a state of forced retirement," said one woman who has been trading with North Korea for over a decade. "I may have to let my employees go soon."
A previously bustling row of stores catering to North Korean buyers was almost deserted over a period of several days last week. That's a stark change from what CNN has observed there during several trips to Dandong over the past two years.
The area is known as "Koryo Street," a nickname referencing a dynasty that ruled the Korean peninsula in the Middle Ages. Not long ago, the street was filled with North Korean buyers, eager to sell back home.
"The North Koreans have disappeared," said one shop owner on the block.
Dandong's "Koryo Street," once teeming with North Korean buyers, is now largely deserted with many shuttered storefronts.
One resident in close contact with North Korean commercial diplomats told CNN that they are now at a loose end because many of the business interests they represent have been forced to return home.
"They spend almost their entire days in a restaurant, playing cards and eating and drinking," she said. "There's not much for them to do."
From slack to strict
China is North Korea's dominant trading partner. It has long been criticized by the U.S. and other governments for not strictly enforcing sanctions against the regime in Pyongyang.
The widely held explanation is that Communist China values North Korea as a strategic buffer against a robust U.S. military presence in South Korea and Japan. Officials fear cutting off economic ties that could destabilize the North Korean regime.
A collapse could lead to a refugee crisis on China's border -- and even a unified Korea under a pro-U.S. South Korean government.
But China has grown angry of late with Kim's persistent testing of nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles. Beijing now sees North Korea's nuclear weapons program as the greatest threat to stability in the region and a risk to the safety and health of Chinese citizens in the region near the two countries' border.
"The U.N. has been sanctioning North Korea forever, but China had never really enforced them," said Mr. Liao. "But this time, China is taking it seriously."
His comments echo earlier remarks from Chinese leaders. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in August that "China more than anyone will pay a price" for implementing the sanctions.
A truck traveling to China from North Korea over a cross-border bridge in Dandong. Truck traffic across the border has dropped since the latest implementation of the U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang.
Trade in goods between China and North Korea was down more than 50% in December from a year earlier, according to official Chinese data. The trend is likely to continue this year.
The sharp decline reflects deadlines set by the U.N. for countries to begin enforcing sanctions. But there are big question marks over the reliability of the Chinese data.
China abruptly stopped reporting how much crude oil it sells to North Korea several years ago even though the fuel is widely known to still be flowing through a pipeline across the border.
Some businesses still dodging sanctions
Critics, including Trump, argue that China could still be doing more to squeeze North Korea's economy.
For example, China has yet to fully crack down on the widespread smuggling operations along its porous 880-mile border with North Korea. The North Korean regime is believed to profit from the activities.
And in Dandong, there are still businesses targeted by the sanctions that are trying to stay open.
One popular category of joint Chinese-North Korean business ventures was restaurants, largely staffed by North Korean workers.
Estimates vary, but most experts agree that the restaurants generated, at a minimum, tens of millions of dollars for the North Korean regime each year.
Most of the ones in Dandong appear to have shuttered after the latest sanctions went into effect. But at least one North Korean-linked restaurant remains open.
One customer who was inside told CNN that he was told he could only pay in cash. Chinese banks had dropped clients with North Korean ties, he was told, and credit card transactions could be traced by the government.
North Korean crabs sold in China despite ban
Even if Chinese authorities crack down even harder on trade with North Korea, experts say it's far from guaranteed that it will compel the regime in Pyongyang to give up on its nuclear program. And while sanctions could take years to really make Kim and his top officials sweat, North Korea's weapons technology is leaping ahead at a far quicker pace.
A region in crisis
For Dandong, though, the waves of sanctions could not have come at a worse time.
The entire region of northeastern China, including Liaoning province where Dandong lies, is in the midst of a painful period of transition.
Heavy industries like steel have taken a hit in recent years. Bloated state-owned companies are laden with debt and burdened by overcapacity. The Chinese government is laying off hundreds of thousands of industrial workers.
Dandong hasn't been spared. Despite its reputation as a trading hub, manufacturing is still one of the city's largest industries. Dandong's economy shrank 2.2% in 2016, the latest year for which relevant economic data was available.
Instead of helping prop up the struggling region, trade across the North Korean border is now dragging it down further.
Dandong's links to North Korea have brought it other headaches. One of the local lenders, Bank of Dandong, was singled out for U.S. financial sanctions last year.
And in another sign of stress, the company that runs the city's port defaulted on its debt late last year.
A North Korean fishing boat heading home on the Yalu River, which separates the country from China.
What happens next?
Seven local businesspeople who spoke to CNN had varying opinions on what's in store for the rest of this year. Some, like Liao, were pessimistic.
"There is nothing to do anymore," he said. "My company probably won't last long, either."
Others said they were hoping that the situation might improve as a result of the recent talks between North and South Korea and the potential goodwill from the upcoming Winter Olympics in the South.
Experts say that China has in the past enforced sanctions for a period of time, in order to send a message to the North Korean regime, and then slackened off.
The Dandong resident with ties to North Korean diplomats said this crisis is more serious than anything she's ever seen before. But she's taking a wait and see approach.
"Perhaps things will return to a normal state if the talks between the Koreas go well," she said.
There was uniform response, though, when CNN tried to ask each resident in the Koryo Street neighborhood about the international politics behind their current woes. Who is most responsible, for instance? Trump, Kim or Xi?
No one would go there.
"I want to say ..." one man began before he was cut off by his wife.
"You crazy?" she snapped. "There's nothing to say."
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