A large number of North Korean businesspeople working in China's northeastern cities of Dandong and Shenyang were recalled to Pyongyang on Dec. 15. The move is believed to be related to the ouster and execution of Jang, who spearheaded many investment programs along the Sino-North Korean border. So far, major projects in the Rason Economic Zone on the border appear unaffected. A new agreement on a highway linking Beijing and the North Korean-South Korean industrial park of Kaesong via Pyongyang also seems to have remained intact. Together with North Korea's continuing desire to upgrade Kaesong, these measures could convince outsiders that Pyongyang is still committed to economic change . Still, the purge, along with the reshuffles that are likely to follow, is raising uncertainty about trade and investment between China and North Korea and about signs of strain in the countries' relations since Kim Jong Un took power.