Daily NK: Regime’s Control Breaking Down Near Chinese Border; First Possible Signs of Famine Emerge
There are two interesting new reports in the Daily NK, both based on clandestine interviews with a small number of North Koreans. The obvious cautions apply.
First, an interview of a resident of Chongjin, in the far northeast:
The security agents say that they no longer arrest blasphemers. They even say that they will enforce laws on the basis of scientific evidences. (Blasphemers refer to those who blaspheme the system of the Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il regime.)
Punishments for defectors, radio listeners, and other such crimes are considerably moderated.
A neighbor in his 70s was arrested due to his acquaintance’ betrayal. He revealed that he had been listening to the radio, but he was just called names during the investigation and criticized publicly in front of a crowd of people. That was the punishment. Even though blaspheming is said to be forgiven, you cannot call Kim Jong Il’s name. Maybe it will be ok for you to say South Korea is rich.
The story clarifies that this is because so many people are complaining, not because of any intentional liberalization by the regime.
Other parts of the story speak of ominous signs in the wake of the reconstitution of the Public Distribution System: large numbers of people on the move, the disappearance of food from markets, and many draft animals are being sold, possibly for food. All are potential indicators of the beginning of a famine.
This part came as a surprise:
Factories and Giupsos [state-owned enterprises] are reluctant to employ partisans [party members?] because it is difficult to lay off them. If one says he is a partisan during a job interview, he will probably be turned down. Non-partisans are definitely preferred.
The regime appears determined to turn the clock back to 1998, as bad as things were then. But with the industrial sector so looted and broken, that seems impossible.
A North Korean defector under her cover name of Choi Myeong Hee (35) said, “I sent three cell phones to my elder brother in Moosan, North Korea, one last year, and two this year. My brother said to me that he had been able to be released by giving 300 Yuan ($40) as a bribe after being caught using his cell phone. He said that when one was captured using a cell phone, he usually could be excused if he could make up a story such as the phone belonged to a Chinese resident and he just used it because the Chinese wanted him to get certain information.”
The North Korean authorities have difficulty investigating the breakdown of cell phone use because cell phones near border line are serviced by Chinese base station. Because the security agents are not able to figure out to whom one made a call through his cell phone, they usually excuse him with a bribe.
Both articles are well worth reading in their entirety.