The North Korean authorities have doubled the number of undercover guard posts
along the border area in order to prevent defectors from escaping the country,
the Daily NK has learned. It has also beefed up its surveillance by teaming
border patrol members up with provincial security agents, according to a source
inside the country. This is seen as a special countermeasure put in place by the
state after failing to reap substantial results in preventing defections,
despite the mobilization of task forces charged with tracking down anyone involved and investigations into corrupt
officers abetting those trying to escape.
“They have recently doubled the number of nighttime stakeout
posts along the Tumen River [the river that forms the North Korea-China
border],” a source in North Hamgyung Province told the Daily NK on Wednesday.
“Not only that, nighttime surveillance, which was previously only carried out
by soldiers on the border, now includes security agents, creating a joint
surveillance team.”
“In areas where the river is shallow and narrow, making it
easy to cross, they have set up posts every 50 meters,” the source added.
“Until recently, they only used to make rounds twice at night, but now it’s
almost every hour.”
Roughly 600 to 700 people have been mobilized to monitor the
border area in North Hamgyung Province, said the source, including general and
economic inspectors, as well as municipal district security agents. They work
in groups of four, regulating movement at night for members of the public as
well as individual soldiers.
Provincial economic inspectors usually are in charge of
monitoring the production at factories in the area, overseeing investments,
revenue, and spending. The fact that these agents have also been mobilized for
border patrol is indicative of how grave a threat the state believes defectors
pose to the system.
The added measures are presumably related to the defection
of three families of 16 members early last month, and the failed attempt by a
military factory worker, who was being aided by a high-ranking official at the provincial
State Security Department [SSD] unit in North Hamgyung Province.
With the added surveillance, night teams sleep during the
day and patrol the area after the sun goes down.
Regarding this new movement residents there have said, “In
this busy harvest season, all they do is sleep all day like moles. Where do
they disappear to just to show up at night like bats?” Many are skeptical that the additional measures will have any effect, “There’s a saying that even ten
guards will never be able to outsmart one thief. Regardless of this all, no one
will get caught.”
