China quietly builds bridges to North Korea
DANDONG, China - It was drizzling rain, and gloomy clouds darkened the surface of the Yalu River separating this Chinese city from its North Korean neighbor.
In a nearby commercial district named after an old Korean kingdom, a group of men distinguishable only by their high cropped haircuts and the pins in their lapels depicting Kim Jong Un's father and grandfather were acting out a tiny drama with broader implications for President Donald Trump's foreign policy and the future security of the United States.
The men, and a handful of women accompanying them, slipped in and out of storefronts to buy cosmetics and other personal items to take back home. More important, they paid inconspicuous visits to the offices of trading companies that account for part of the vital flow of goods between China and North Korea.
The presence of these visitors
