China has begun using North Korea’s Rajin Port to ship coal from Hunchun city in China’s Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture to other locations.

Officials of the prefecture and Hunchun city said Monday that 20-thousand tons of coal produced in Hunchun last December was transported on a trial basis to the North’s Rajin Port, after which it was transferred to a container and shipped to Shanghai.

A Hunchun city official said that by using the port in Rajin, Hunchun will be able to more actively ship underground resources and grain from China's northeastern regions via the East Sea.

Last March, China purchased exclusive rights to use the North’s 380-thousand-square-meter port.