PRC/DPRK: SCARLET FEVER, SMUGGLING, BORDER-

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SHENYANG 000102

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR PRM, INR, EAP/CM, EAP/K

E.O. 12958: DECL: TEN YEARS AFTER KOREAN UNIFICATION
TAGS: PREL PGOV PREF PINR KN KS CH
SUBJECT: PRC/DPRK: SCARLET FEVER, SMUGGLING, BORDER-
CROSSERS AND TOURISM IN MAY 2007

REF: A. (A) SHENYANG 31

B. (B) SHENYANG 78

Classified By: ACTING CONSUL GENERAL DAVID BRIZZEE. REASONS: 1.4(B)
AND (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: PRC authorities in Jilin recently claimed
they have taken measures to prevent a scarlet fever
outbreak in the DPRK from making its way into China.
Though officials would not confirm the outbreak, they
privately stressed that they are prepared. South Koreans
appear to be playing both direct and indirect roles in the
smuggling of North Korean antiquities out of the DPRK as
Dandong border authorities pursue a new campaign against
cross-border smuggling. PRC officials near Changbai
continue to detain and deport North Koreans who are in the
area illegally. Chinese tourism to North Korea appears to
have resumed an air of greater normalcy following last
month's Arirang Festival. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Poloff traveled nearly half the length of the PRC-
DPRK border MaY 7-11, including to Dandong, across from
Sinuiju, North Korea; Ji'an, which abuts Manpo; Baishan;
Linjiang, which faces Chunggang; and Changbai County,
across from Hyesan. This cable supplements ref A, which
focused on PRC-DPRK trade developments.

JILIN STEELING ITSELF AGAINST SCARLET FEVER IN NORTH KOREA?
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3. (U) In an unusual recent report, the government of the
Jilin Province border town of Linjiang, which is linked to
Chunggang, North Korea by a bridge, announced on its
website in late March that a scarlet fever outbreak in
several North Korean cities across from neighboring
Changbai County had prompted PRC provincial and local port,
quarantine and inspection authorities to take (unspecified)
measures to guard against a transmission to China. (NOTE:
Across the Yalu River from Changbai County--which shares a
260-kilometer border with the DPRK--is, most importantly,
the city of Hyesan, which has a fairly sizable population
compared to other DPRK border localities. END NOTE.)


4. (C) In an unofficial meeting with Poloff on May 10,
high-level officials from Changbai's Customs, Quarantine
and Port of Entry Administration offices seemed to play coy
when asked about the outbreak, claiming they could not
confirm the information. The Deputy Director of Changbai
Quarantine, however, noted that Changbai port authorities
are prepared to guard against scarlet fever if need be. He
noted, for instance, that quarantine personnel already
disinfect the tires of incoming cars from Hyesan. More
generally, they also inspect lumber imports from North
Korea for worms, as well as search for infectious diseases
among human and animals, though he offered little in the
way of specifics on any of these measures. Asked how
regularly Changbai authorities communicated with their
North Korean counterparts across the river about common
concerns (i.e., public health issues),he replied that
their annual Lunar New Year party is effectively their only
exchange each year.

SMUGGLING: DPRK ANTIQUES, ROK DEMAND, PRC COUNTERMEASURES
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5. (C) South Koreans are playing both direct and indirect
roles in the smuggling of North Korean antiquities into
China (see reftel for background) in and near Dandong. In
Dandong proper on May 7, Poloff spoke at length with a
South Korean who claimed to be involved in such smuggling.
The individual had moved from Pusan to Dandong, where he
bought a stall at the Hualian antiques/souvenir market,
near the city's land port. The South Korean explained
that, working through his South Korean partner and Chinese
intermediaries, he regularly smuggles North Korean antiques
(mostly porcelain and light furniture) into China, where he
in turn sells the pieces primarily to ROK tourists and
collectors. The DPRK prohibits the legal export of
antiques, he said, so smuggling is his only option; and ROK
demand for quality, authentic North Korean antiques is

SHENYANG 00000102 002 OF 002


high, he added. He typically sends the better pieces (he
did not say how) to the ROK, where they can usually fetch 3
to 4 times--and sometimes up to 10 times--his costs in
procuring the items, he noted, earning him a healthy
profit. He typically reserves the less expensive items for
his shop (which featured both reproduction and authentic
items ranging from USD 20-200),aimed at visiting South
Korean tourists.


6. (C) Official PRC media over the past two months have
stepped up publicity about a new several-month-long anti-
smuggling campaign launched by the Dandong Border Defense
corps. The campaign primarily seeks to combat illegal
cross-border fishing in the neighboring Yellow Sea, but has
also involved an associated crackdown on "illegal border
trade" and smuggling. Media reports have noted some
successes in seizing some of the unlicensed fishing boats
and motorboats often used by smugglers. But small-scale
smugglers in Dandong continue to admit only minor concern
(see ref B). Poloff on May 7, for instance, encountered a
small-scale smuggler based on Dandong's waterfront who
showed Poloff a copper mirror (RMB 200; USD 25) and what
appeared to be several reproduction vases (RMB 200-300, USD
25-40) he claimed to have procured from the North Korean
side the previous night. The man shrugged dismissively
when asked about the campaign.

BORDER-CROSSERS: ANECODTAL EVIDENCE
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7. (C) Poloff encountered conflicting anecdotal information
about North Korean border-crossers in Ji'an, Linjiang and
Changbai County--China's sole autonomous ethnic Korean
county. Changbai's Party Secretary, MIAO Chunxiu (protect)
and officials from the Changbai Foreign Affairs Office
(FAO),for instance, claimed in separate meetings with
Poloff May 10-11 that the area had seen "very few" North
Korean border-crossers recently, in contrast to the 1990s,
at which time Changbai received, fed and "returned" them to
North Korea. But in Linjiang on May 9, Poloff on the
city's waterfront promenade spotted a sign--dated August
2005--warning residents that it was "strictly prohibited"
to offer food or shelter to "border-crossers." Party
Secretary Miao on May 10 told Poloff that Changbai County

SIPDIS
officials continue to apprehend and repatriate North
Koreans, pursuant to a PRC-DPRK treaty. The Director of
the Changbai Port of Entry Administration told Poloff later
the same day that Changbai port is not used for such
repatriations, which usually took place through other
ports.


8. (C) Several hundred kilometers further south of Changbai
County near Ji'an--which sits across from Manpo--a
fisherman in a remote rural section of Laohushao told
Poloff on May 9 that the area near his home on the Yalu had
seen no border-crossers over the past year. A thirty-year
resident of the area, he noted, however, that DPRK border
guards stationed further upstream occasionally crossed over
to the Chinese side at night to beg for food.

PRC TOURISM TO NORTH KOREA ON ITS WAY TO NORMALCY?
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9. (C) Piggybacking on the opening in tourism brought about
by the Arirang Festival last month, PRC tourism to North
Korea appears to have resumed an air of greater normalcy
following a long freeze starting last year. In Dandong,
for instance, the state-run Dandong Overseas International
Travel Service (DOITS) was in early May offering 4-day
tours to North Korea for RMB 2500 (USD 325) for Chinese
citizens, though prices for foreigners--Americans and South
Koreans excluded--are nearly twice as expensive. According
to a manager at DOITS, lead time of 10-15 days is needed to
negotiate with North Korean authorities. 1-day tours to
Sinuiju, however, are still prohibited, she said, as they
have been for several years now.
BRIZZEE