[Report] Kim Jong-un’s ‘surprise visit’… Dandong, China is on high alert for a day

(Dandong = Yonhap News) Correspondent Jeong Seong-jo = A tight security posture was established in Dandong, Liaoning Province, China, where North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un made a surprise visit to China on the 24th.

Rumors of a high-ranking official's visit have been circulating locally for several days. Security training was also witnessed, and residents reported that armored vehicles and police special forces were seen deployed in major areas such as the Yalu Riverside and the New Yalu River Bridge.

On the day of Chairman Kim's 'day trip' visit, vehicle movement was restricted on roads throughout the city from the morning.

In celebration of the opening of the New Yalu River Bridge on the 15th of this month, the North Korean national flag and the Chinese five-star red flag were displayed on both sides of the neatly maintained roads in Dandong, creating an atmosphere welcoming high-ranking guests.

Even when the New Yalu River Bridge opened, the high-rise buildings around the bridge were strictly controlled for several days, and on that day, police lines were put in place, blocking pedestrian access and restricting stays at nearby hotels. However, on this day, China's level of control increased even further.

It was reported that local public security officials were closely monitoring people known as North Korean news sources, and on the 15th, the hotel in front of the New Yalu Bridge, where accommodation was possible, suddenly canceled reservations on the same day, saying, "Foreigners are prohibited from staying."

Chairman Kim arrived in Dandong this morning after crossing the New Yalu Bridge and visited the Anti-American and Assistance Memorial Hall together with Wang Huning, chairman of the National People's Political Consultative Conference, China's official fourth-ranking official.

The visit took place a day before the 76th anniversary of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's participation in the Korean War, and was the first visit by a North Korean supreme leader.

The Anti-American Aid Memorial Hall is a 'national first-class' museum commemorating China's participation in the Korean War, and is located on Yinghua Mountain (英華山) on the banks of the Yalu River with a panoramic view of North Korea's Sinuiju and Dandong.

China, which calls the Korean War the 'War of Resistance to America and Aid to the United States', meaning 'the war that helped Joseon (North Korea) against the United States', has been collecting relics since the end of the war, and in 1958, it collected weapons equipment, household items, medals, flags, etc. from Chinese soldiers who returned from North Korea to create a memorial facility commemorating the participation in the war.

This facility was promoted to a national memorial hall in 1993, the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice Agreement, and has since been renovated and expanded to become a large memorial hall with an area of ​​182,475 m2.

The museum houses about 12,000 relics related to the Korean War, such as tanks and machine guns, and 7,000 historical relics.

The memorial hall was temporarily closed from the 19th of this month to this day due to 'repair of power equipment and renovation of the heating system.'

In a video released by China Central Television (CCTV) on this day, Chairman Kim laid a wreath at the Anti-American and Assistance Memorial Hall in the presence of a Chinese honor guard.

On the left side of the red wreath was the phrase, "We will forever remember the martyrs of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army," and on the right side, the phrase "Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" was written in Korean.

Chairman Kim, dressed in a black suit, arranged the words on the wreath by hand and stood at the front in silence, while North Korean and Chinese officials accompanying him bowed their heads together behind him.

Chairman Kim and his party later viewed videos and relics of the Chinese military's participation in the war displayed at the memorial hall, and presented a commemorative plaque with a photo of his grandfather, President Kim Il-sung, and others and his own handwritten message.

After viewing the memorial, Chairman Kim moved to his seat and held a meeting with President Wang Huning. In the afternoon, he visited the Dandong Automobile Factory and inspected the production situation, including bus assembly.

On this day, when Chairman Kim climbed the New Yalu River Bridge again to return to North Korea, the sun was setting.

After Chairman Kim's 'surprise' visit to China ended, Dandong quickly returned to its usual state.

Near Dandong Station, a night market was held amidst the chilly weather, and downtown restaurants, which had regained their vitality for a long time, continued to operate with their neon signs turned on.

When I looked around the city, there were no national flags flying around the roads, and only the five-star red flag was flying.

The Anti-American and Assistance Memorial Hall that Chairman Kim visited that day was closed and quiet, and several residents out for a walk were walking around.

Around the illuminated New Yalu River Bridge, newly built beer houses and cafes had bright signs, but they were not open for business.

Professor Emeritus Lee Hee-ok of Sungkyunkwan University said of Chairman Kim's visit to China on this day, "The meeting with President Wang Huning was a working-level discussion on the advancement of North Korea-China economic cooperation, following the results of the visit to the Wonsan-Kalma coastal area last July. It was also an implementation of strategic cooperation between the two countries through shuttle diplomacy while strengthening strategic communication was agreed upon through the North Korea-China summit," adding, "North Korea is attempting to increase hedging against the United States by improving relations with China and Russia." Granted.