A shop dealing solely in Russian goods in Dandong, China—just across from the customs house in the North Korean city of Sinuiju, North Pyongan province—has reopened after a renovation.
According to a Chinese source for Daily NK’s AND Center recently, the shop used to operate in the past, but it reopened after a complete remodeling of its interior and exterior at the start of the year.
Photos obtained by the Chinese source show that the shop’s sign reads “Russian import gallery” in Chinese and Korean. Notably, above that is another sign in Chinese that reads “Russian product collection point,” a slogan that highlights the shop as a distribution point for Russian products.
Some 70 to 80% of the products on the shop’s shelves are Russian-made, with a diverse selection of goods, including vodka and other high-end spirits, foodstuffs, and daily necessities. As if to demonstrate this, there is a Chinese sign inside that reads, “We carry thousands of kinds of Russian goods.”
North Korean supply, Chinese sales, Russian production
The shop’s distribution and operational structure are noteworthy.
“The shop receives Russian-made goods through the border from North Korea and leaves sales and operations to the Chinese side,” the source said. “The shop’s owner and sales manager are Chinese.” The North Korean side supplies the goods and shares the sales profit with the Chinese side, generating foreign currency for Pyongyang.
Because, at least outwardly, Chinese nationals sell the goods and collect the profits, the shop can skirt international sanctions on North Korea. It is a strategy to evade sanctions by using third-country nationals—in this case, Chinese—as a front, while North Korea collects the actual profits behind the scenes.
At the same time, observers say this case demonstrates the tripartite cooperation between North Korea, China, and Russia, with North Korea supplying the goods, China distributing and selling them, and Russia producing them. They note that China has assumed the role of an intermediary as North Korea and Russia grow closer.
“This Russian import shop on the North Korea-China border symbolically demonstrates the gray-zone cooperative model where North Korea, China, and Russia’s interests merge,” the source said. “With cooperation between North Korea and Russia recently extending beyond military and political cooperation to the economic sector, this trend is taking concrete form even in the economic space on the North Korea-China border.”
February 02, 2026 at 09:48PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)