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2017.06.28
| Won | Pyongyang | Sinuiju | Hyesan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange Rate | 8,070 | 8,050 | 8,095 |
| Rice Price | 5,800 | 6,000 | 5,900 |
Two miners have died at Namgye Mine in the Yangheung region of Baekam County after falling more than 60m down a shaft. The accident occurred at the beginning of this month at the mine, whose production of talc has long been used to produce gifts for important events of the Kim regime, earning it the nickname “gift mine.”
According to an inside source from the region who spoke with Daily NK on the 19th, “Last Monday (June 17th) at around 2PM, two men who had entered the mine to start their shift slipped from a ladder on the way down and fell to their deaths. They had entered the shaft to work on preparing a pot to send to Pyongyang as a gift at the beginning of next year.”
The 60m-long ladder was poorly constructed from rope with plywood slats, meaning that the danger of injury or death was considerable. According to the source, there were no safety measures in place to try and ameliorate the danger, other than verbal warnings and the drying effect provided by talcum powder itself.
“The ‘gift mine’ is the deepest of all the mine shafts, and the only way to get down to the deposits is via this poorly constructed ladder,” the source explained. “The wooden ladder is slippery, so if you put a single foot wrong on it you’ll fall. There have been falls on a number of other occasions.” The entrance to the “gift mine” is currently blocked off, and personnel are reportedly patrolling the area.
Hearing of the case, one of a number of defectors in South Korea who were born in the region commented to Daily NK today, “The ‘gift mine’ in Yangheung is known as a place where lives are risked to produce gifts for the Kim family,” adding, “Could you even imagine that happening in South Korea; men and women entering a mine shaft on a rope ladder of a kind you might see in a foreign adventure film?”
One of the miners killed in the latest incident was a teenager who looked after his grandmother and younger sibling, Daily NK has learned, which makes it all the more tragic to local people. It remains to be seen whether his family will receive assistance from the state going forward, given that he died in the process of mining minerals to be used for gifts to send to Pyongyang.
According to the source, the production of a pot to be used as a high-level gift such as this requires approximately 25kg of talc, a substance that can also be used to make paint, rubber, food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
According to an inside source from the region who spoke with Daily NK on the 19th, “Last Monday (June 17th) at around 2PM, two men who had entered the mine to start their shift slipped from a ladder on the way down and fell to their deaths. They had entered the shaft to work on preparing a pot to send to Pyongyang as a gift at the beginning of next year.”
The 60m-long ladder was poorly constructed from rope with plywood slats, meaning that the danger of injury or death was considerable. According to the source, there were no safety measures in place to try and ameliorate the danger, other than verbal warnings and the drying effect provided by talcum powder itself.
“The ‘gift mine’ is the deepest of all the mine shafts, and the only way to get down to the deposits is via this poorly constructed ladder,” the source explained. “The wooden ladder is slippery, so if you put a single foot wrong on it you’ll fall. There have been falls on a number of other occasions.” The entrance to the “gift mine” is currently blocked off, and personnel are reportedly patrolling the area.
Hearing of the case, one of a number of defectors in South Korea who were born in the region commented to Daily NK today, “The ‘gift mine’ in Yangheung is known as a place where lives are risked to produce gifts for the Kim family,” adding, “Could you even imagine that happening in South Korea; men and women entering a mine shaft on a rope ladder of a kind you might see in a foreign adventure film?”
One of the miners killed in the latest incident was a teenager who looked after his grandmother and younger sibling, Daily NK has learned, which makes it all the more tragic to local people. It remains to be seen whether his family will receive assistance from the state going forward, given that he died in the process of mining minerals to be used for gifts to send to Pyongyang.
According to the source, the production of a pot to be used as a high-level gift such as this requires approximately 25kg of talc, a substance that can also be used to make paint, rubber, food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
