A woman rides a bicycle past shops and companies that trade with North Korea, near the customs building in Dandong, Liaoning province, China, April 21, 2021. Reuters-Yonhap

North Korea has taken a stance opposing China's plans to install telecommunications facilities near the border in a recent email to an international frequency management organization — a rare revelation of a diplomatic action by Pyongyang to express dissatisfaction with Beijing.

According to the email obtained by reporters, North Korea also complained that China failed to consult it about the plans in advance, a sign that the two countries long known for close economic ties may have a problem in bilateral communication.

The dispute occurred after the Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union made the information about terrestrial networks available to relevant countries in June, including China's plan to set up 191 facilities for purposes such as FM radio broadcasting.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of relations between North Korea and China, its long-time economic benefactor.

But Pyongyang has sought closer ties with Russia, especially in the defense sector, through activities such as sealing a strategic partnership treaty in June between its leader Kim Jong-un and President Vladimir Putin, a move diplomatic sources in Beijing said displeased China.

North Korea said that some of the proposed radio stations are "located in the border areas" with the country and it expressed "objection to the registration of those FM stations" in the email dated July 24.

Of the 191, 17 stations including those in Dandong, a border city in northeastern China, could cause "serious interference", it said.

Beijing "has never made request for advance coordination" and the move would constitute an "infringement" of an ITU guideline as well as a bilateral agreement signed in 1981, Pyongyang said. Details about the bilateral accord are unknown.

"It is a rare occurrence that a confrontation between China and North Korea has been revealed," said Atsuhito Isozaki, an expert on North Korean politics, adding that possible signals of worsening ties were also seen in reporting patterns by Pyongyang's official newspaper.

The Rodong Sinmun has not mentioned Chinese President Xi Jinping or the 75th anniversary of the bilateral ties for several months, the professor at Keio University in Japan said, adding that the current status of relations does not seem to be "normal."

Japan, the United States and South Korea expressed "grave concern over the increasing military and economic cooperation commitment" between Pyongyang and Moscow during their defence ministerial talks last month.

Read the full story at SCMP.