N. KOREAN RESTAURANTS IN CHINE RESUME OPERATION

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It has been confirmed that North Korean restaurants operating in China have reopened after suspending operation due to the coronavirus outbreak. In order to attract more customers and earn foreign currency, the North Korean restaurants are offering delivery services as well as presenting in-house musical performances.

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​At a North Korean restaurant in the Chinese border city of Dandong, Liaoning Province, employees are moving busily in a hallway on the second floor. The restaurant has reopened after suspending operation amid the spread of COVID-19.

[Soundbite] (NORTH KOREAN RESTAURANT EMPLOYEE) : "(Today is the day of the sun. Is there a special offer?) Yes. (What do you offer?) Taedonggang beer is on special offer to mark the day of the sun."

Musical performances are offered for diners.

[Soundbite] (NORTH KOREAN RESTAURANT EMPLOYEE) : "(How long have you worked here? for two years?) No. It has been just a month. (How could you come from North Korea a month ago?) I had my ways."

During evening business hours, the restaurant put up a sign at the entrance notifying the availability of delivery services, with all outside lighting switched off.

[Soundbite] (NORTH KOREAN RESTAURANT EMPLOYEE) : "(Do you deliver?) You can order for delivery or dine here. You don't need to make a reservation."

North Korean restaurants had been closed, as Pyongyang shut down its borders in January to block the spread of the coronavirus. Being unable to return to the North, their employees were waiting for the resumption of business while staying at the restaurants. Some of the North Korean restaurants re-opened recently, following a fall in COVID-19 cases in China. It is also partly attributable to somewhat loosened UN sanctions on Pyongyang. The Chinese government is believed to have newly issued three-month visas for cultural or artistic activities to the North Korean restaurant employees.

[Soundbite] (SOURCE FAMILIAR WITH NORTH KOREAN AFFAIRS) : "The extension is possible only for those who have stayed in China with records of previous applications. It is not for new workers."

The North Korean regime is said to have sent an estimated 80,000 workers to China.