Traders, relatives sit and wait for promised border opening

DANDONG, China -- There was a near-complete lack of any preparations or information Sunday to suggest that entry to the North Korean district of Sinuiju from here would be unrestricted beginning Monday.

Chinese and South Korean authorities on this side of the border said they knew nothing about changes in border procedures. Chinese residents in Dandong are free to cross the Yalu River into Sinuiju, a Dandong official said, "but we haven't heard anything about simplified border processing or giving passes to foreigners."

Bae Jin-ho, a Korean who runs a trading company here, had planned to enter Sinuiju as soon as the border opened Monday. The Chinese customs and border patrol officers he had contacted also said no authorization had come from Beijing, Mr. Bae said.

Chinese nationals with recognized business ties are granted passes to enter Sinuiju.

An official at the Korean consulate in Shenyang, northwest of here, said there had been no notification from Beijing about any changes.

Yang Bin, the minister for Sinuiju, had told reporters in Shenyang on Friday that passage to Sinuiju from Dandong would require no entry visa beginning Monday. Sinuiju had been designated a near-autonomous special administrative district on Sept. 12. The Chinese-Dutch entrepreneur was chosen to head the administrative body in Sinuiju by Pyeongyang.

A North Korean official stationed here said he had no word from Pyeongyang, but a source familiar with the Sinuiju project and close to Mr. Yang insisted the change would be made on schedule. With the international spotlight on him, the source said, Mr. Yang would not have talked publicly about it without a go-ahead from both governments.

South Koreans and Japanese were already congregating in Dandong in expectation of the border opening, packing local hotels. They included merchants hoping to get an early look at Sinuiju; a few others are people with family members believed to be in the region. One man said he arrived from Busan after hearing reports of Mr. Yang's announcement and was hoping to see relatives in Sinuiju.

Separately, a government official in Seoul said Sunday that a North Korean mobilized infantry brigade stationed in Yeomju county, which includes the Sinuiju district, had been relocated further south in North Pyeongan province last year. The move suggested that the Sinuiju district idea had been evolving for some time, the official said.

by Choi Hyung-kyu, Ko Soo-suk