The abrupt execution of North Koreaโs
defense minister Hyon Yong Chol has sent unsettling ripples of anxiety through
the upper ranks of Pyongyang, prompting the state to cast a tighter net of
surveillance on Party cadres. Hyonโs family and those with close ties to him in
the upper echelons of power are under strict surveillance, Daily NK has
learned.
โMilitary and Party cadres in Pyongyang
affiliated with Hyon are living in fear, not knowing whether they will fall
victims as well,โ a source from Pyongyang currently residing in the Sino-North
Korean border area told Daily NK. โThey are keeping low profiles to make sure
the leadership doesnโt make an example out of them.โ
He described Pyongyang as being “awash in tension” in the aftermath of Hyonโs execution. โIn the month of May, there have been
greater limitations on travel permits to other areas not only for residents but
Party cadres as well. State Security Department [SSD] restrictions on mobility
have also really been ramped up,โ he explained.
He added, โKey Party cadres looking to
cruise around the city by car need to have a good reason for it and also need
to report their exact route in order to receive permission. To make sure they
donโt get into trouble, a lot of them just stay within the confines of their
office.โ
Fortifying this oppressive grip has been
the introduction of high-tech mobile phone wiretapping devices that allow the
state to not only listen in on conversations but also scan and match a userโs
voice with his or her identity. โEvery word, every action is being watched,โ the
source asserted.
Others in Pyongyang, too, have been
impacted by the measures. Travel permits to the border regions have been
curtailed significantly–unusual for residents of Pyongyang, who are not
typically seen as high-flight risks. Restrictions on business trips to other
provinces or on total distance of travel involved were fairly lax for those in
the capital, but the source asserts such practices have undergone a marked change.
โIn the past, if any member of the donju
[new affluent middle class] applied for a travel permit to Sinuiju in order to
buy goods, the office under the Ministry of Peopleโs Security would issue it in
a matter of days; now, however, they donโt issue them at all,โ he said, adding
that travel permits once sold for 100 RMB on the black market are hard to
secure now even at double the price.
โThe SSD has been secretly stepping up its
monitoring to contain rumors about Hyon and stamp out any talk that would negatively impact Kim Jong Unโs authority. But for some time,
chatter about the defense minister will continue on–just like the atmosphere of anxietyโ the source concluded.
*The content of this article was broadcast to the North Korean people via Unification Media Group.
