Yanji, China — It was reported that there has been close inspection of People’s Safety Agency on smuggling of scrap iron in North Korea. The source said that soldiers in a border area carrying out scrap iron were all placed under arrests.
“On March 16th, People’s Safety Agency in Hyesan arrested soldiers who were carrying 6 tons of scrap iron on the street connecting Gabsan, Yangkang Province with Hyesan to smuggle them,” a source from Yangkang Province told in the phone interview with Daily NK on 27th.
Arrested soldiers were belonging to the 8th Bureau which was stationed in Hyesan for mobilizing military supplies of Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces. Their main task is to sell gold, food and fuel to China and buy war materials. These soldiers of the 8th Bureau were reportedly detected by the People’s Safety Agency when they entered Hyesan with a truck loaded with scrap iron and covered with waterproof cloth.
The source said that the authorities instructed to punish scrap iron smugglers severely in early March. The people’s units are taking lectures and People’s Safety Agency are closely inspecting on smugglers under directions. Unlike the past pattern, agents are searching cars of soldiers, the source said.
It was pointed out that “people are gathering all iron in a factory so, there only remains the frame of the Gumsan-dong Fertilizer Factory,” which produced potassic fertilizer in border area in Yangkang. “Therefore, we are going to punish scrap iron smugglers severely from now,” the source reported the instruction of the meeting.
“Scrap iron smuggling has been prevailed since 2004,” the source said. “The iron in border area, however, is almost depleted. So, the soldiers are buying scrap iron from inland area and selling them in border strip between Hyesan and Chanbai, China with military cars,” the source added a further explanation.
Smugglers who sold metal resources such as copper, aluminum, nickel and others to China appeared in the middle of 1990s when there began a great famine in Yangkang Province and South Hamkyung Province. Even though North Korean regime tried to eradicate it announcing punishment of public execution, as soldiers who were in charge of the defenses of border began participating in smuggling, it didn’t get the practical effect of regulation.
“Since North Korean regime regulated on smuggling strictly and Chinese smugglers asked a cheap price, it didn’t get any attention among people.” the source said. “As the price of scrap iron has been rising in China since last year, even ordinary people are smuggling scrap iron,” the source explained.
According to the source, these smugglers in North Korea buy 1kg of scrap iron with 700 North Korean won in North Korea and they exchange it with 1kg of rice in China. People’s Safety Agency in Yangkang Province estimated that around 60-100 tons of scrap iron are smuggled into China a day.
“There isn’t any iron in North Korea. We don’t know where this country is going,” the source said. “Farmers are stealing farm machines from collective farms’ stores, Therefore, every factory is asking their workers to offer farming utensils such as weeding hoes and mattock.”
