North Korean beer exports to China surge; counterfeit cigarettes and sanctioned seafood also changing hands in Dandong

KCNA reported Friday that an opening ceremony for the "Korea-China Yalu River Bridge" was held Thursday at the site, amid anticipation and attention from the governments and peoples of both countries. North Korean Cabinet Prime Minister Pak Thae-song and Chinese State Council Premier Li Qiang delivered congratulatory remarks via video link, the agency said. [Yonhap]
KCNA reported Friday that an opening ceremony for the "Korea-China Yalu River Bridge" was held Thursday at the site, amid anticipation and attention from the governments and peoples of both countries. North Korean Cabinet Prime Minister Pak Thae-song and Chinese State Council Premier Li Qiang delivered congratulatory remarks via video link, the agency said. [Yonhap]

North Korea is accelerating its hard-currency drive through beer, cigarettes and seafood exports to China as the new Yalu River bridge linking the two countries opened after a 12-year delay, Japan's Mainichi Shimbun reported Friday.

The new Yalu River Bridge connecting Dandong in China's Liaoning Province with Sinuiju in North Korea's North Pyongan Province officially opened Thursday. The key cross-border logistics corridor had been completed in 2014 but sat unused for 12 years before finally entering operation.

With the expanded logistics network expected to boost trade between the two countries, signs of aggressive North Korean sales activity and smuggling have been spotted across Dandong as Pyongyang focuses on securing foreign currency.

North Korean restaurants in the city are serving not only draft Daedonggang beer — one of the North's flagship export products — but also Ryongseong beer, a brand previously considered domestic-only and not exported.

Signage for Pyongyang Beer, billed as the North's first domestically produced beer, has appeared on city streets, while a range of North Korean beers including Bonghak, Kumgang and Milky Way are being actively distributed through Dandong on Chinese online shopping platforms.

According to China's General Administration of Customs, Chinese imports of North Korean beer jumped from about 540,000 liters ($240,000) in 2024 to roughly 1 million liters ($780,000) in 2025.

Imports for the first eight months of this year have already reached about 920,000 liters ($770,000), keeping the upward trend intact.

Because beer is not subject to UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea, Pyongyang appears to be prioritizing exports to earn foreign currency even at the expense of domestic supply.

North Korea has also begun exporting beer to Russia, where ties have deepened in recent years, cementing beer's role as a new hard-currency earner, the paper said.

Beyond beer, North Korea is supplying cheap counterfeit-brand cigarettes to expand its foreign-currency intake, and analysts expect the volume of cigarette smuggling to grow further as the new bridge increases cargo capacity.

In addition, North Korean seafood — a product subject to UN Security Council sanctions — is openly changing hands at fish markets in Dandong.

The Mainichi said the bridge's long-awaited opening, 12 years after construction began in 2010 and was completed in 2014, has raised hopes for economic activity around the crossing while also stoking concern that the effectiveness of sanctions against North Korea could be significantly undermined.


mokiya@heraldcorp.com