[imText1]It is known that recently illicit used car trafficking is decreasing in the border areas where used cars were often illegally traded.
Geun Min Chul (pseudonym, 40) who had graduated from the Office for Supporting North Korean Defectors Settlement (Hannwon) on the 9th of last month, said that, “A few years ago, I usually offered 100,000 dollars made by one ‘branch’ to the government. But these days it is not even 10,000 dollars.” The word ‘branch’ means a branch within the Foreign Currency Organization.
Mr. Geun, who was posted to a ‘January 17th factory’ located in Hyoiryeong, his hometown, after an honorable discharge, said that while doing business, he made some money even during the food crisis. Meanwhile, in 2000 he and other traders who had a lot of money started to participate in illicit trafficking in of Japanese-made used cars. Geun said that, “Our branch was ‘Maebong’ under the Ministry of Foreign Trade and consisted of six people including a chief of the branch.”
Used cars were introduced into Rajin port and Chungjin port, and resold to Doman River areas. Prices of used cars that Geun sold were from 2,000 to 5,000 dollars per car. Given that the purchase price was from 500 to 1,500 dollars, the business was lucrative. Chinese traders resold the used cars to Nei Monggol and Heilongjiang illegally bought at the prices of from 5,000 to 10,000 dollars. Chinese people so prefer Japanese-made cars that “If fuel does not escape, it passes unconditionally.”
Even at Shinnuiju which adjoins Dandong, illicit used car trafficking prevailed.
Lee Sung Gyu (pseudonym) who worked at a branch within 7 Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security said that, “We shipped used cars to the Amnokgang area.”
A cause of the recently declining illicit used car trafficking is analyzed to be a deadlock of NK-Japan relations such as abducted Japanese issue, the embargo on North Korean ships, and drug and weapons smuggling.
According to Mr. Lee, contrabands were usually performed at night. First, North Korean contrabandists wait for Chinese partners with 30 used cars in a cargo ship in the 500 ton class. Then a chief of Chinese partners walks over into the ship and examines conditions of the cars and finally bargains about the price. After the chief is done with all of this, he calls China on a cellular phone. Chinese workers who get the call waiting at Dandong port instruct to withdraw guardians at the border areas, where the North Korea ship moors. The guardians are mobilized to disembark the used cars. After disembarking, Chinese partners pay North Korean contrabandists. They risk getting unexpected attacks by police officials in the process.
Mr. Lee added, “Most of the contrabandist were staffs working at the National Security Agency Police Offices and the Foregn Currency Organization.”
The leading NK government organizations in contraband… A headache to China
From the early 90’s, North Korea has secretly sold used cars to China in large quantities. In the past the rich were remigrants who lived in Japan. Yet now the newly rising rich are people who made a lot of money by illicit used car trafficking, and antique trading. Because they can make thousands of dollars all at once, even if they ship only once, they risk losing their life.
Due to the illicit used car trafficking of North Korea, the Chinese government is also annoyed. The Chinese government inhibits illicit used car trafficking to protect its domestic car market. To stop the increasing illicit trafficking, the Chinese government had even executed a contrabandist in 1998.
Illicit used car trafficking in North Korea were led by the government organizations such as the Party, Cabinet, military authority, National Security Agency, and Police offices. The purpose of first importing used cars was selling secretly to China. It is illogical for North Korea which has no oil to import large quantities of used cars. Used cars which are supposed to be sold to China are parked in a place of the National Security Agency and police offices located at Shinuiju, Euiju, Hyoiryeong, Onsung. Most of the used cars were sold secretly to China, except a few cars given to mayors, chiefs of police offices and a chief of the National Security Agency, because of lost market.
In the early 90’s, contraband companies related to illicit trafficking of used cars were only 10, yet in 2000, it increased by 100. Recently, given the declining used car contrabands, it will be interesting to see what new items for contrabanding are.
