The era of Kim Jong Un began just two years ago, and so far not many changes have been observed in North Korea. However, a few things changed clearly and dramatically, and one of these is the situation on the 1,200-kilomter-long border between North Korea and China. It seems that the authorities have managed to significantly decrease cross-border human traffic, while their efforts to curb the flow of information and money have so far been less successful.

A very porous – essentially open – border with China has remained a peculiar feature of the North Korean situation. From the late