Pyongyang has boosted inspections and
surveillance not only in the areas that border China but also further inland after it detained two South Koreans, Kim Gook Gi and Choi Choon Gil,
for allegedly being spies.
“Borders restrictions have been intensified
since [Party-run publication] Rodong Sinmun reported on the espionage incident
and when soldiers in Sinuiju escaped to China,” a source from Yangkang Province
informed Daily NK on April 13th. “Merchants who make their living by smuggling goods are
struggling these days, and even wholesale vendors at markets don’t know because they cannot get goods in from China.”
He added, “The Central Party carried out inspections
along the borders after February 16th — Kim Jong Il’s birthday — and not long
after, we heard news of the South Korean spies on Central Television.” Unlike other inspections, this recent case is related to
espionage, so even the boldest smugglers are being cautious. Those smuggling
innocuous goods have also halted their operations, citing fears of the potential repercussions.
“There have always been inspections, but
most of them were conducted by the Ministry of People’s Safety Ministry [MPS] and the
State Security Department [SSD]. But the recent inspections are different in that they
are directed by the Central Party,” he explained, adding that some who had
gone to China to visit relatives are also being investigated, and the MPS and SSD have mobilized inminban [people’s unit] leaders and key
figures to monitor them along with families of defectors.
As the Central Party inspections have
expanded from the border areas to other regions, rumors are spreading among people
that the purpose is to ferret out “impure members hidden in society.” The inspections on narcotics, human trafficking, illegal phone calls,
and defections began in mid-February and after wrapping up in Hyesan, have shifted to North Pyongan Province, Jakang Province, and other areas along the
border.
The tighter grip on border control has seen the volume of goods entering North Korea
from China decrease by one-third. The source said
the leadership is likely enhancing its inspections on cross-border trade and
entries because it feels threatened by “impure ideologies” and “vibes from
capitalist delinquents and punks” entering by way of China.
*The content of this article was broadcast to the North Korean people via Unification Media Group.
