[imText1]Forty-year old Park Sung Jin (pseudonym), a clothes merchant from Chongjin, recently traveled to Tumun in Jilin Province, China under the pretext of visiting his relatives. There, he looked for Chinese business partners and tried to find items he could sell.
It took guts for Mr. Park to venture a trip to China. However, his efforts may turn out to be fruitless.
Mr. Park needed to get a border pass to go to China, and it costs him a great fortune. The pass allowed Mr. Park to visit his pre-determined destination only once. He paid 1 million North Korean won (approx. US$340) for the pass which he applied for in February, 2006 and received in August, 2007. If he wanted to have it within six months, he would have had to pay about 4,000 Yuan (approx. USD560).
Applicants for the pass also need to bribe the officials of the People’s Committee and Security Agency because they are in charge of issuing visas to China. In fact, Mr. Park had to spend extra money on bribery to go to China for business.
Since it was Mr. Park’s first time to apply for the visa, he went through a relatively simple procedure. As for those who apply for the visa more than once, a more complicated procedure is awaits them. They are asked to state what they did during their first visit to China.
If Mr. Park is issued a passport, he can go to many places for long periods of time. Unfortunately those over the age of 45 are more likely to get a passport (Mr. Park is forty). Moreover, becoming eligible to be issued a passport is much more complicated and it costs a fortune. For instance, those who apply for the issue of a passport are supposed to pay $40 for application fee. However, the applicants need to spend extra money on bribes and other things and in most cases wind up spending more than $500 to get a passport.
Mr. Park is now busy visiting relatives and business partners. He is determined to make as much money as possible during his stay in China before returning home.
There are more theft incidents in Hoiryeong than ever
Lately, 45-year old An Myong Sook, a resident in Hoiryeong city, has not been hanging her wash outside to dry. She tells her 15-year daughter not to forget to lock the doors when she leaves home because there are so many thieves in her neighborhood.
Since last year, the construction of apartments and roads has been underway around her area in order to commemorate the 90th birthday of Kim Jong Suk (the late mother of Kim Jong Il). For the construction, many outside workers came to her area, and some of them have broken into neighboring houses.
After repairing the road and erecting a statue of Kim Jong Suk, the workers began laying a road between Hoiryeong and Chongjin in June. Many workers came to Hoiryeong from Rajin, Chongjin, Kilju, and Hamheung.
However, ever since their arrival in Hoiryeong in June, the number of households robbed of belongings or livestock has increased. The local people of Hoiryeong are increasingly complaining that the increase in the price of rice and theft is related to the presence of the outside workers.
Accordingly, the North Korean authorities have strengthened the punishment for theft. In the past, stealing was considered as a petty misdemeanor. Nowadays, the punishment for theft is time in a labor training facility. The authorities confiscate all stolen items sold to third parties.
However, it is difficult to retrieve basic goods such as clothes once they are stolen, and therefore every household in Hoiryeong is on the alert for theft.
