Following the official opening of the New Yalu River Bridge connecting China and North Korea 12 years after its completion, the Mainichi Shimbun reported that North Korea is expanding its foreign currency earnings targeting China, focusing on items such as beer, cigarettes, and seafood.

Amid the full-scale expansion of logistics networks between the two countries, intensive marketing and signs of smuggling by North Korea, which is staking its all on earning foreign currency, are being detected in various parts of Dandong.

At North Korean restaurants in downtown Dandong, not only draft Taedonggang Beer, a representative export product, but even Ryongsong Beer, which was previously considered to be for domestic use and not exported, are being sold to customers.

Signs for Pyongyang Beer, North Korea's first domestic beer, have appeared on downtown streets, and various North Korean beers such as Bonghak, Kumgang, and Unhasu are actively being distributed through Dandong on Chinese online shopping malls.

According to the General Administration of Customs of China, China's import volume of North Korean beer surged from about 540,000 liters (about 240,000 dollars / 320 million won) in 2024 to about 1 million liters (about 780,000 dollars / 1.05 billion won) in 2025.

The import volume for January to August of this year also continued its upward trend at approximately 920,000 liters (about 770,000 dollars / 1.04 billion won).

Because beer is not subject to United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea, North Korea appears to be prioritizing foreign currency acquisition and focusing on exports despite shortages in domestic demand.

The newspaper explained that North Korea is exporting beer not only to China but recently to Russia as well, establishing beer as a new means of acquiring foreign currency.

In addition to beer, North Korea is seeking to expand foreign currency earnings by supplying counterfeit brand cigarettes at low prices, and the scale of cigarette smuggling is expected to grow further if cargo transport volume increases following the opening of the New Yalu River Bridge.

In addition, it has been found that North Korean seafood, which is a UN Security Council sanctioned item, is being openly traded in Dandong seafood markets.

The New Yalu River Bridge, which broke ground in 2010 and finished construction in 2014, officially went into operation yesterday local time 12 years later.

Mainichi pointed out that while there are expectations for economic revitalization around the bridge, concerns are also being raised that the effectiveness of sanctions against North Korea could be significantly weakened.

(Photo: Yonhap News)