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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 |
In what appears to be the regime's latest tactic to discourage defection to the South, the North Korean authorities are telling People’s Unit meetings that defectors in South Korea sleep rough and spend their time "wandering the streets."
An inside source based in Yangkang Province told Daily NK on the 12th that, “Attendees at a recent People’s Unit meeting were told that, ‘Defectors who have gone to the South become kkotjebi and sleep in parks and train stations like Seoul Station. They use public benches as beds, and newspapers as blankets.’”
However, “Not one person believes this. In fact, distrust toward the authorities is only growing,” the source reported.
Insisting that the South Korean government has run out of settlement funds and apartments for defectors, security authorities in Yangkang Province are also allegedly warning that defectors can expect to live in a “communal bunkhouse where fights occur constantly.” Furthermore, they claim, “those who leave the bunkhouse end up wandering the streets.”
“The head of the People’s Unit threatened that if anyone was thinking of defecting they were choosing a ‘road that would hasten their demise,’ and that it is better to sleep under your own roof even if there isn’t enough to eat and life is tough,” the source continued.
Moreover, “It was said at the meeting that people had been arrested and punished by the security authorities for dealing in remittances from the South, abetting defectors and talking to people in South Korea on the phone. They threatened that if anyone is planning on defecting then they should change their mind.”
Most North Koreans meet such claims with deep suspicion, the source reported, recalling people making remarks like, “If [defectors] live like kkotjebi with no houses and no income, then where do they find the money to send to their families [back in the North]?” and, “Isn't it true that the people being punished for remittances got their money from family members who defected?”
Finally, the source concluded, “Someone actually piped up in the meeting and said, ‘Who in the world actually enjoys leaving their home and their family? Even if you are under your own roof, you can’t sleep soundly when you’re so worried about finding enough to eat.’ That comment really stumped the head of the People’s Unit, and he couldn’t say anything in response.”
