North Korea looked to be further isolating itself, with reports yesterday that it was restricting travelers from major benefactor China and ignoring calls to lift a threat to close its border with the South.
The moves come a day after the North said it would not let international inspectors remove nuclear samples from its plant that produces weapons-grade plutonium, which could drag down an international disarmament-for-aid deal.
“By restricting the flow of Chinese visitors, North Korea seems to be trying to have a firmer grip on its internal situation, especially with Kim Jong-il’s suspected health problems receiving global attention,” said Park Young-ho of South’s Korea Institute for National Unification.
The Financial Times quoted US officials as saying Beijing had increased the number of troops on its border with North Korea to prevent a possible flood of refugees flowing into China if leader Kim lost control.
“I have not heard about any abnormal circumstances on the border between China and North Korea,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang (秦剛) said when asked about the reports of closing the border.
Travel agents in China, who send a steady though small stream of tourists to North Korea, said they were still organizing visits, though trips had to be made via air rather than by rail.
South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said the North may be trying to strong-arm the international community into giving it more aid in exchange for Pyongyang taking its foot off the brakes on the disarmament deal.
“If we consider North Korea’s clear negotiation pattern, its strategy has always been to create a crisis before resolving something and trying to use that point to secure further concessions,” he said.
“The South urges the North to continue to work for co-existence, co-prosperity and better relations of the two Koreas through dialogue and cooperation,” a South Korean defense official said.
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