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China Suspends North Korea Flights and Closes Main Road Between Them amid Nuclear Tensions

China further isolated North Korea on Friday by closing the main road between them just a few days after the state-owned airline Air China indefinitely suspended flights from Beijing to the reclusive country.



The China-North Korea Friendship Bridge is closed for "maintenance" and will be reopened once the necessary repairs are made, Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, without offering a timeline. Meanwhile, the decision to suspend flights, announced Tuesday, was reportedly linked to a lack of demand. An official in the company’s Beijing-based press office, who refused to give a full name, simply told Reuters on Wednesday "business was not good" as he explained the decision.

Correspondingly, companies in China that offer tours of North Korea have reported a sharp decline in business in recent months, blaming the drop on the "political drama." Simon Cockerell, the general manager of Beijing-based Koryo Tours, recently told South China Morning Post he's seen a 50 percent drop in business compared to last winter.



During a recent 12-day trip to Asia, Trump -- who's often been accused of being too over the top in his rhetoric toward North Korea -- urged China to continue to pressure Kim to step away from his nuclear program. Last week, a senior Chinese envoy was sent to Beijing to attempt to rekindle relations and discuss the recent tensions. Trump hopefully tweeted about this on November 16: "China is sending an Envoy and Delegation to North Korea - A big move, we'll see what happens!"


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