Despite strong opposition and condemnation
from the international community following a fourth nuclear test at the
beginning of this year, Kim Jong Un launched a long range rocket, widely seen as a veiled test of ballistic missile technology, earlier this month. In response, the South Korean government partially shut down Kaesong Industrial
Complex [KIC], and due to concerns that worker pay was being redirected to fund the
development of missiles and nuclear weapons, completely shut down the plant.
The U.S. has also passed a harsh set of sanctions
on North Korea in order to cut off Kim Jong Un’s line of funding. Japan is
restricting the entry of North Korean ships into its ports as well as
drastically increasing the restrictions on overseas remittances from Chongryon
to North Korea. Most observers have cited the increased sanctions led by the
U.S., South Korea, and Japan as leading the call for anticipated sanctions by
the UN Security Council that may follow shortly.
But what do North Korean Party cadres think
of these increased sanctions? Although the North Korean regime has been
spouting the propaganda line that if the people simply believe in Kim Jong Un,
he will wisely shepherd them through this difficult time, those on the inside
reveal that the majority of Party cadres do not have a high degree of
trust in Kim Jong Un’s leadership.
With Kaesong Industrial Complex cut off as
a source of funding for the regime, the authorities are predicting a massive
increase in the amount of “loyalty funds” that will be collected. However, as
the people providing those funds are already strapped at the current level,
worries abound.
Recently, our Daily NK reporter spoke with
a Party cadre who hails from Hoeryong in North Hamgyong Province, but who was
in Pyongsong City, North Pyongan Province for work. Our source told us that
pressure this year to remit overseas currency in the form of “loyalty funds” seems higher than ever. Gold miners have also asserted that if foreign revenue streams
are severed, the government will have to focus on domestic sources of funding.
“If gold mining increases, it is, in the end, the workers who suffer,” our
source reported, citing the workers.
Following the nuclear test and the rocket
launch, the festive atmosphere the authorities force on the public is lost on Party
cadres, according to sources within that contingent. One would be hard pressed to find a Party cadre who sees the
shutdown of Kaesong Industrial Complex and impending sanctions as
favorable. Families of the Kaesong workers, as well as residents in the nearby
area, are also wondering how they will continue to survive following the blow dealt
to their livelihood.
Another Party cadre, who did not wish to
have his position or location revealed, told Daily NK that if outside support
or exchange is cut off, it would prove especially distressing to mid-level
Party cadres. In other words, “those at the highest level (Kim Jong Un and his
close associates) have already ensured that they’ll have a way to avoid
suffering any consequences,” he pointed out.
“Party cadres these days do not feel a true
sense of loyalty towards the regime, but have rather been forced to demonstrate
it for a long period of time. Cadres have been saying among themselves that
the recent string of events is yet another example of Kim Jong Un putting his
own gains ahead of the fate of the nation.”
A resident in Samsu County, Ryanggang
Province, who is aware of the fresh sanctions levied against North Korea, also
weighed in, noting, “It’s not as if this is our first or second round of
international sanctions, so from a citizen’s perspective none of this is really
a surprise, but the cadres appear to be smoldering. This is because support
from South Korea and the UN never trickled down to us; the high-ranking cadres
sucked it all up for themselves.”
As word of looming sanctions churns in
North Korea’s rumor mill, the public’s belief in the regime’s propaganda is
wavering. Domestic media outlets and official rhetoric are devoid of any
mention of the sanctions, instead attempting to craft a narrative of international
support for the endeavors. But for the public, past is prelude, and they
therefore fully expect ramifications.
“The TV [Korean Central Television, or KCTV] and the Rodong Sinmun [Party-run publication] say it was a satellite, but people have already heard about KIC
shutting down and they automatically connect the dots that the launch served
another purpose. The other thing is that in the footage surrounding the event,
the scientists commended for their efforts were seated right next to soldiers.
So some people are saying it seems as though whatever happened might have had
some connection to the military.”
For some, like one North Korean resident
currently in China on a personal travel visa, these seeds of doubt grow into
full blown certainty with the right exposure. “When I came to China, I felt as
though we have really been living in the dark. The propaganda that says
Kim Jong Un is guiding us so that the people can live well is nothing more than
him trying to build up his ‘achievements,’” she told Daily NK.
“If the public at large were to see and
understand this, it would blow things wide open. People would doubtless point
their finger at Kim Jong Un’s inept governance and its direct connection to
their suffering.”
