The North Korean authorities stepped up enforcement of a Pyongyang driving crackdown program on the pretext of alleviating traffic during the busy holiday of Chuseok. However, some local observers believe that the move is intended as a way to strengthen surveillance efforts in the fallout of the North’s latest nuclear test.
“The Pyongyang City Transportation Bureau ordered intensified regulation of the odd/even number plates rotating road space rationing system [i.e. keeping vehicles with either odd or even number license plates off the road on designated days] in order to prevent congestion and accidents. Those caught driving on Chuseok illegally were to pay a much larger fine than for normal offenses,” a source in South Pyongan Province reported to Daily NK.
“Because the ban came into effect on Chuseok [September 15] , the number of taxi passengers increased dramatically. The authorities increased the number of downtown and intercity buses for Chuseok, but many passengers resorted to using taxis after delays forced them to wait longer than 15 minutes.”
The authorities strengthened enforcement of the road space rationing crackdown in anticipation of the frenetic travel associated with Chuseok, when citizens of both Koreas traditionally visit family members and ancestors. Outsiders also flooded into the city to visit family burial vaults located all over town.
Some within North Korea believe that the move is intended to help the authorities better analyze and observe the large influx of people into the city. By ordering the road rationing system, half of the cities cadres were unable to drive, thus making it easier for them to be monitored under the strengthened surveillance efforts.
“An order was handed down to inspect all incoming vehicles from the outskirts of the city during the Chuseok holiday. From the authorities’ point of view, this also provides a good way to track the movement of cadres out of the city,” explained an additional source in Pyongyang.
“Owing to the nuclear tests and the high-ranking defectors, the situation is tense. So the authorities are showing the will to track and observe all movements.”
In the beginning of the year, Kim Jong Un ordered an odd/even plate traffic alleviation system to be enforced in downtown Pyongyang. The order was enforced on all cars save buses or vehicles operated by foreigners or high-level officials. The traffic security offices and corresponding personnel in each section are responsible for carrying out the ban.
