Daily NK has obtained video evidence of prostitution happening in North Korea, and is able to publicly reveal the activity for the first time.

The video was taken by an anonymous Daily NK source outdoors in the square in front of Hyesan Station in Hyesan, Yangkang Province. In the grainy film, the filmmaker, who yesterday also revealed evidence of homeless children sleeping rough in the freezing Hyesan winter, engages in conversation with a pimp about accommodation, age, appearance and the price of the service in question, as well as what kind of people ordinarily use prostitutes in the area.

The price, according to the pimp, is 50 Yuan. It is payable in Chinese, rather than North Korean, currency. Asked why it is so expensive just to sleep with a woman, the pimp explains, ��If you go together, how can I know whether you will do it once, twice or ten times?�� Exchange rates in North Korea are extremely volatile, but at the time of writing 50 Yuan is roughly equivalent to 60,000 North Korean Won, which is enough to buy 10kg of rice in the market.

The video also reveals that the prostitution occurs in ordinary residential areas. Asked whether the women being offered are beautiful, the pimp explains, ��Go with a woman from my neighbourhood and you can bargain with her, and if you sleep with a younger woman then that is more expensive.��

The pimp also explains who uses prostitutes in the city. Asked whether many soldiers do so, including non-commissioned officers with the Border Guards, she explains, ��Yes, of course they do. It��s mostly soldiers though, officers don��t do it. It��s normal soldiers.��

��The military do that everywhere [in North Korea],�� the pimp adds. ��They do it because they have money. But they can��t sleep and have no time, so they just do it and come out.�� In Hyesan and other border cities, members of the Border Guards earn money by colluding with smugglers and defection brokers, meaning that they have the money to engage with prostitutes in this way.

According to the Daily NK source who made the video, the economic situation in North Korea has been getting steadily worse since Kim Jong Eun came to power, meaning that the number of prostitutes, especially from ordinary families, is rising. The majority are women in their 30s and 40s, although there are also substantial numbers in their 20s and teens, including students.

The source said, ��Life has been getting more difficult recently, so young women are taking to prostitution, including kids in their teens. There��s nothing else to do for fun in North Korea at night, so men satisfy their desires with prostitution and this draws more women into the trade.��

Although the price of the prostitution in the video is 50 Yuan, it can be as much as 150 Yuan, with the younger women being sold for higher prices. The fee is divided between the woman herself, the pimp and the owner of the prostitution site 50%, 25%, 25%, the filmmaker said.

Even if the activity is uncovered by the security forces, in many cases punishment does not result because, as with many other activities in North Korea, bribery is common. In addition, many of the main players in the prostitution business use their contacts in the security forces to learn about planned crackdowns in advance and avoid them.