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2017.06.28
| Won | Pyongyang | Sinuiju | Hyesan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange Rate | 8,070 | 8,050 | 8,095 |
| Rice Price | 5,800 | 6,000 | 5,900 |
Daily NK has learned from a number of sources that North Korea has issued a nationwide defense alert and embarked on three days of anti-aircraft training and evacuation drills.
A North Hamkyung Province source told Daily NK this morning, “An order was issued by the Party Central Military Commission requiring nationwide anti-aircraft training for three days from today. During this period every citizen including those working in factory enterprises will conduct emergency evacuation drills, and there will be blackouts.”
A Shinuiji source agreed, adding, “We are doing wartime defense training exercises starting today. The authorities propagated the idea that ‘Lee Myung Bak declared war on us first by visiting Yeonpyeong Island’ and then they instructed each unit to adopt a war footing.”
Simultaneously, a source from Onsung County in the far northeast reported, “We have been ordered to attend anti-aircraft training from the 22nd. No excuses.”
The Onsung source added, “They ordered that a week’s worth of emergency supplies per person be handed out, and people’s unit leaders are performing inspections.”
Such anti-aircraft drills are common in North Korea, although they are traditionally held in September or November. However, it is likely that Pyongyang was incited to action this year by President Lee Myung Bak’s recent visit to Yeonpyeong Island, at which time he mentioned South Korea’s willingness to defend the existing West Sea maritime boundary to the last man.
However, the changed date has not affected the level of indifference to stormy rhetoric that most residents feel.
“Some people are interested in the news of wartime defenses,” the Shinuiju source commented, ”but most really couldn’t care less. Disbelief is the standard reaction when the authorities give news like this about war, with most tending to assume it is an excuse to have a crackdown on something or other.”
The North Hamkyung Province source also offered another reason for the sudden implementation of the drills, saying, “The recent case of a soldier from the Minkyung Unit who killed his superiors then deserted across the DMZ to South Chosun showed the looseness of military discipline, so now the authorities are trying to tighten it up again.”
A North Hamkyung Province source told Daily NK this morning, “An order was issued by the Party Central Military Commission requiring nationwide anti-aircraft training for three days from today. During this period every citizen including those working in factory enterprises will conduct emergency evacuation drills, and there will be blackouts.”
A Shinuiji source agreed, adding, “We are doing wartime defense training exercises starting today. The authorities propagated the idea that ‘Lee Myung Bak declared war on us first by visiting Yeonpyeong Island’ and then they instructed each unit to adopt a war footing.”
Simultaneously, a source from Onsung County in the far northeast reported, “We have been ordered to attend anti-aircraft training from the 22nd. No excuses.”
The Onsung source added, “They ordered that a week’s worth of emergency supplies per person be handed out, and people’s unit leaders are performing inspections.”
Such anti-aircraft drills are common in North Korea, although they are traditionally held in September or November. However, it is likely that Pyongyang was incited to action this year by President Lee Myung Bak’s recent visit to Yeonpyeong Island, at which time he mentioned South Korea’s willingness to defend the existing West Sea maritime boundary to the last man.
However, the changed date has not affected the level of indifference to stormy rhetoric that most residents feel.
“Some people are interested in the news of wartime defenses,” the Shinuiju source commented, ”but most really couldn’t care less. Disbelief is the standard reaction when the authorities give news like this about war, with most tending to assume it is an excuse to have a crackdown on something or other.”
The North Hamkyung Province source also offered another reason for the sudden implementation of the drills, saying, “The recent case of a soldier from the Minkyung Unit who killed his superiors then deserted across the DMZ to South Chosun showed the looseness of military discipline, so now the authorities are trying to tighten it up again.”
