North Korea¡¯s Ministry of People¡¯s Security [MPS] has recently proclaimed and put into action a policy of stringent penalization for traffic violations, doling out harsh penalties to any transgressors. According to Daily NK¡¯s sources, the move is a bid by the authorities to strengthen punishments as traffic violations have not abated, but rather increased, in recent years.  

¡°The MPS has issued nationwide its new hard-line penalization on the 4th of this month,¡± a source in South Pyongan Province told the Daily NK on February 24th. ¡°Penalties for drunk driving, violation of traffic signals and regulations regarding pedestrians and bicycle usage, were highly emphasized."

According to the source, the state has ramped up traffic inspection posts along major roads and multiplied the number of motorcycles designed to track cars breaching traffic signals. Traffic agents constantly patrol the streets, even sweeping into the expansive labyrinth of back alleyways and sporting armbands branding their status as inspectors ready to hand out hefty fines or revoke an individual's driver's license.

Drinking and driving is a predominant factor contributing to the chaotic traffic situation in North Korea and additional cause for the recent mandate. ¡°Drunk driving is so rife in North Korea that ¡®drivers¡¯ have become almost synonymous with ¡®drunkards.¡¯ Long-distance drivers often drink to alleviate their stress from work, exponentially increasing the occurrence of accidents," he explained.

The organizational body charged with traffic inspection has been largely ineffective due to the lack of technological devices, namely breathalyzers, required to detect violations. Most importantly, the agency is extremely venal--money has enabled residents to easily evade punishments for quite some time. These circumstances are exacerbated by the fact that in North Korea, beer is hardly even considered alcohol, shelved alongside soft drinks and sold much like an equivalent product. Residents are largely influenced by this notion and drive without regard after quaffing enough alcohol to endanger themselves and others on the road.

Bicycles are also subject to stricter penalties as a result of the mandate; residents must stay on the right side of the bike path or face fines of 5,000 KPW [0.63 USD], and bikes transporting more than one person are subject to confiscation.

Many residents have expressed misgivings about the nature of these new regulations, speculating them to be merely another means of procuring money for the authorities, especially considering cars are generally only the privilege of Party cadres and the donju [new affluent middle class]. Drawing on the past, they expect such reinforcements to fizzle out just as they did after similar measures were announced last year but ultimately not strictly enforced.

¡°In fact, the very agents tasked with enforcing the laws have been employing them to line their own pockets and fostering more criticism and discontent among residents," the source concluded.