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Jan. 1, 2009: Hu Jintao and Kim Jong-il exchange New Year messages and pledge closer China-DPRK ties. Jan. 2, 2009: ROK Ministry of Strategy and Finance says South Korea will implement anti-dumping duties on Chinese and Taiwanese polyester yarn for the next three years. Jan. 5, 2009: ROK Unification Ministry says the current slowdown in North Korean defectors to South Korea is partly due to tightened border controls in China. Jan. 5, 2009: SAIC injects $45 million into Ssangyong and resumes negotiations with Korea Development Bank over a possible restructuring plan. Jan. 7, 2009: The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention heightens bird flu warnings after a teenager in Beijing is suspected of dying from the virus on Jan. 6. Jan. 9, 2009: China’s Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue visits Pyongyang to discuss 60th anniversary-related exchanges. Jan. 9, 2009: Ssangyong Motor Co. files for court protection from creditors. The board reconvenes in Shanghai to finalize restructuring plans. Jan. 9-12, 2009: A Chinese Foreign Ministry delegation visits Pyongyang for 60th anniversary celebrations of China-DPRK diplomatic relations. Jan. 11, 2009: The North Korean consulate general in Shenyang opens its branch office in Dandong city bordering North Korea. China-Korea Relations 105 April 2009 Jan. 12, 2009: The Seoul Central District Court grants receivership to Ssangyong. Union workers say they are prepared to negotiate a turnaround plan. Jan. 13, 2009: Ssangyong suspends production at its sole plant in Pyeongtaek. Jan. 13, 2009: Family members urge Seoul to press Beijing for the release of South Korean abductee who escaped North Korea in May 2008 after three decades in captivity. Jan. 13-14, 2009: Chinese Foreign Ministry hosts gatherings with North Korean diplomats in Beijing. Jan. 14, 2009: About 150 direct suppliers to Ssangyong plead with creditors and the ROK government to provide financial assistance. Jan. 16, 2009: North Korea holds a New Year reception for Chinese diplomats in Pyongyang. Jan. 18, 2009: ROK Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs announces that South Korea and China have agreed to shuttle flights linking Seoul’s Gimpo Airport and Beijing’s Capital International Airport. Jan. 21, 2009: Chinese petrochemical makers accuse South Korean firms of dumping. Jan. 21-23, 2009: Chinese party official Wang Jiarui visits Pyongyang and meets high-level DPRK officials. He delivers a letter to Kim Jong-il from President Hu Jintao on the occasion of Lunar New Year. Jan. 30, 2009: The ROK government announces it will discontinue support for parts suppliers of Ssangyong in face of worsening economic conditions. Jan. 30, 2009: The ROK government says it will ban imports of dried persimmon from China after the discovery of a harmful parasite in the product. Jan. 30, 2009: President Obama calls President Hu to reaffirm his pledge to denuclearize North Korea through Six-Party Talks. Feb. 1, 2009: Hyundai and Kia report a record number of car sales in China in January. Feb. 2, 2009: Ssangyong reveals that its auto sales dropped 82 percent in January. Feb. 4, 2009: DPRK media says China has decided to give “free aid” to North Korea. Feb. 6, 2009: Ssangyong wins court approval for bankruptcy protection. Feb. 10, 2009: A local supplier for Ssangyong collapses due to the automaker’s deteriorating financial situation, putting at risk 200 more vendors. China-Korea Relations 106 April 2009 Feb. 15, 2009: Ssangyong announces plans to revamp its assembly lines. Feb. 17-19, 2009: Chinese nuclear envoy Wu Dawei visits Pyongyang to express concern over activity at North Korea’s primary missile launching facility. Feb. 18, 2009: Ssangyong says it will downsize business operations and cut executive wages by up to 54 percent in a bid to meet procedures for court receivership. Feb. 22, 2009: ROK Minister of Strategy and Finance Yoon Jeung-hyun and Chinese counterpart Xie Xueren meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN Plus 3 special meeting of finance ministers. ASEAN Plus 3 finance chiefs agree to expand their regional currency swap fund from $80 billion to $120 billion to cope with the financial crisis. Feb. 23, 2009: ROK agriculture officials report that South Korea imported a record $112.7 million worth of kimchi in 2008, mostly accounted for by Chinese imports that reached 13.5 percent of local consumption. Feb. 24, 2009: Pyongyang announces it is preparing to launch a communications satellite. Feb. 24-25, 2009: ROK Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan meets senior officials in Beijing including Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi and Premier Wen Jiabao. Feb. 26, 2009: DPRK state media reports that China has repeated its invitation to Kim Jong-il to visit Beijing for a summit with President Hu Jintao. Feb. 27, 2009: Air purifier sales in South Korea jump in sales with forecasts of especially severe “yellow dust” from China this spring. March 2, 2009: Ssangyong says sales dropped 69.4 percent in February, with domestic sales plunging 51.5 percent and exports 82.7 percent. March 7, 2009: Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at China’s annual parliamentary session calls for enhanced China-Japan-ROK cooperation on the financial crisis and says FTA negotiations with ROK should begin as early as possible. March 8, 2009: The Ministry of Knowledge Economy reports that Hong Kong has replaced China as South Korea’s largest overseas market in terms of trade surplus ($2 billion). March 17, 2009: North Korean officials arrest two U.S. journalists on the Sino-North Korean border for “illegally intruding” into DPRK territory. March 20, 2009: A Bank of Korea official announces the central bank is in talks with its Chinese counterpart to convert part of a 38 trillion won ($27.2 billion) currency deal into dollars. China-Korea Relations 107 April 2009 China-Korea Relations 108 April 2009 March 17-21, 2009: DPRK Premier Kim Yong-il makes a five-day visit to China where he tours Shandong Province and meets senior officials in Beijing including Premier Wen Jiabao, NPC Standing Committee Chairman Wu Banguo, and President Hu Jintao. March 18, 2009: The Ministry of Knowledge and Economy says it will expand export insurance for shipments to China to 20 trillion won ($14 billion), a 30 percent increase from 2008. March 24, 2009: Pyongyang declares it will launch a satellite between April 4 and 8. March 24-25, 2009: ROK nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac meets Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei in Beijing to discuss Pyongyang’s planned satellite launch and stalled Six-Party Talks. March 24-25, 2009: High-level officials from China, Russia, South Korea, and Mongolia attend the 10th Consultative Commission Meeting of the Greater Tumen Initiative in Ulaanbaatar to further regional cooperation on Tumen development. March 25, 2009: Ssangyong union workers announce plans to sue SAIC for mismanagement, seeking compensation for damages and cancellation of SAIC’s 51 percent stake. March 25-28, 2009: PLA Chief of Staff Chen Bingde meets ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Kim Tae-Young and tours military bases in South Korea. March 27-29, 2009: Seoul’s Sejong Center for the Performing Arts stages China’s “Butterflies” in the first major exchange of plays since the establishment of cultural ties in 1992. April 5, 2009: North Korea launches what it describes as a satellite.