Persons from other regions in Pyongyang in the days prior to the declaration of this month's mourning period to commemorate the 1994 death of Kim Il Sung were ordered out of the city, Daily NK has learned.

A Pyongyang source reported to Daily NK on the 8th, “The authorities began vetting citizens in mid-June then declared the mourning period from July 6th through 13th,” adding, “Those without Pyongyang residency permits were forced out, and entry for those coming to the city in July was cut off.”

In accordance with the decision, the Second Department affiliated with the Pyongyang City branch of the Ministry of People’s Security, which ordinarily deals with travel permit issuance in the capital, has suspended the production of permits.

North Korea usually restricts domestic travel for 1~2 weeks during all periods of ‘special vigilance,’ which are commonly declared in the run-up to special dates pertaining to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, as well as when foreign heads of state visit the country. Notably, this year the special period began in mid-June, rather than early July as traders would have predicted, and this caused some to give voice to their discontent.