Daily NK snapshots from North Korea – week of March 6, 2023

Daily NK snapshot Here is a summary of selected articles from Korean websites. Snapshots provide a window into Daily NK coverage and daily life and society within North Korea.

Perpetrators face punishment as rampant electricity theft among border guards

Many border guards in North Ping An Province have been charged with power theft. Since her COVID-19 pandemic began three years ago, North Korea has maintained additional border security forces to close its borders. An unannounced inspection conducted by the North Ping’an Electricity Supervision Agency revealed more than 100 cases of power theft by border guards. These cases include tampering with meters, installing and distributing unauthorized power lines and bulk transformers, and in some cases selling more than the amount of power allotted for a particular unit or facility. was included. Officers and soldiers also brought in batteries and devices to recharge at work, at the request of residents. The Northern Ping An Provincial Party Military Commission has indicated that units and individuals responsible for stealing electricity to support border patrol operations will be severely punished. State officials are also using the opportunity to emphasize that unauthorized use of electricity is treated as theft and encourage the use of electricity meters.

Full article in Korean by Jeong Tae Joo here.

Tokchon People’s Committee, Ministry of Social Security team visit local market

The People’s Committee of Dokchon City, South Pyongan Province and the Ministry of Social Security conducted an unannounced visit to a market in Deokchon City, South Pyongan Province for four days late last month. Inspections were carried out under the pretext of gathering information on market conditions, ensuring that prices were stable, taking inventories of various commodities on sale, and confiscating domestic products sold without a license. The seized items included packaged foods such as denjang, vinegar, soy sauce with chitosan (a preservative), and MSG. Those who sell such goods will also be expelled from the market for a month and will have to conduct their business elsewhere. Residents say the city often raids local markets during times of economic difficulty, but the crackdown was unprecedented in its speed and scope. We are investigating whether the factory is illegally selling goods to market traders.

Full text in Korean by Jung So-yeon here.

Chinese defectors fear arrest, deportation

North Korean defectors in China are feeling uneasy amid rising arrests and rumors of extradition to North Korea. Some North Korean defectors have recently been arrested on suspicion of being involved in human trafficking. After the incident, rumors circulated that Chinese security officials were hunting down North Korean defectors, arresting them, and sending them back to North Korea. Some North Korean defectors have already been arrested, and rumors are circulating that all North Korean defectors currently being held in Chinese prisons will be deported to North Korea. In the midst of this situation, some North Korean defectors have cut off communication with friends and family, while others are hiding. He suggested that Chinese security forces were cracking down on an increasing number of North Korean defectors trying to go. Decides to give up immigration and live in China instead. The current crackdown has left them no safe place.

Full article in Korean by Lee Chae Un here.

Kim Il-sung withdraws from anti-Japan class on Independence Movement Day

North Korea held various anti-Japanese class* activities in preparation for its Independence Day on March 1. These activities were excluded from this year’s curriculum. State-owned enterprises, branches of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League, and universities each conducted lectures and discussions based on the curriculum distributed by the state. The curriculum covered atrocities committed by Japan during its colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula and efforts to eradicate Korean. claimed to have refused. He emphasized that Japan is the mortal enemy of the Korean people. He also emphasized the need to strengthen class education so that North Korean youth do not forget the brutality of Japanese imperialism and their struggle against it. He noted that the lecture began by praising the revolutionary achievements of Kim Il-sung and his father and grandfather before moving on to issues of class struggle.

* “Class studies” is North Korea’s ideological education aimed at fostering hatred and resistance to the “exploiting classes” of imperialist and capitalist countries such as the United States and Japan.

Full text in Korean by Jung So-yeon here.

Summary by Nick Seltzer. Edited by Robert Laurer.

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