How Corrupt Is North Korea These Days?

Very, if this report from Good Friends is true:

On November 28th, Hamheung City, South Hamgyong Province publicized the latest results of the drug crackdown. The City launched the campaign since last September. Party officials, including four officials belonging to the Provincial Party, three officials from the city party, two police officers from the Sungchun region, two prosecutors from the Province, and one party official from the Sapo region, who have accepted bribes from drug smugglers were the main targets of the recent crackdown. The police authorities condemned the perpetrators and made their names and ranks public before relieving them of their posts and indicting them.

In addition to these officials, civilians were also arrested for having committed drug-related crimes. On December 13th, the city police presided over an open trial at the Chupyung market one hour before the marketplace opened for business with the police chief announcing the charges in each indictment and making open statements that the Party would sweep out crime.

People grumbled about the unfairness of only subjecting civilians to the humiliation with an open trial. The officials who have been charged for the same crimes did not have to stand an open trial as did the civilians at the Chupyung market.

A few years ago, if you’d said that regime officials could be bribed to look the other way at something as serious as drug trafficking, I wouldn’t have believed you. If this can happen today, I wonder how long it would take before officials can be paid off to look the other way at receiving foreign broadcasts, selling radios, or being a relative of a defector:

It was common for people to bribe police officers who were in charge of resident registry records to prevent any disadvantage that might occur during family background check prior to being appointed as an official. If they had any family members who fled the country, they often bribe officials and change the missing person status to death.

I wonder how long before it becomes possible to buy weapons from the police or from military quartermasters.

There are a lot of interesting items in that report, although the obvious cautions about hearsay and verification apply.