A Derailment Incident in Hwasung
[imText1]Yanji, China — At Yongbahn Station in Hwasung, North Hamkyung, a train on the Rajin-Sariwon Line derailed on December 20th, resulting in the deaths of 11 passengers and scores of wounded.
The incident occurred while members of a rail maintenance team were taking a break while repairing a section of the tracks.
Fortunately, a bigger disaster was avoided as the train had been entering the station at the time of the incident, and thus had been moving slowly. The head of the railroad unit, the party cell secretary, and the supervisor of the train are under investigation by the People’s Safety Agency.
In other news, a military truck reportedly overturned on a hill in Saebyul, North Hamkyung some time in December. Around 10 soldiers died.
Chief Administrator of Sunam Market Implicated in Corruption Incident
The chief administrator of the Sunam market, located in Chongjin City, North Hamkyung, was arrested on December 22nd on suspicion of corruption. A People’s Safety Agency officer stationed at the market and an accountant were also arrested on the 26th and are currently being interrogated.
The chief administrator of the Sunam market once served as the vice-chairman of the Chongjin City People’s Committee, although he later retired from his position as a high-ranking North Korean official.
The suspects are accused of conspiring to increase the number of market stalls so as to increase their personal profit. Authorities allocated 7,000 stalls to Sunam market, but the chief administrator illegally increased this number to 10,000 with the collusion of the People’s Safety Agency officer. The suspects allegedly reported the earnings from 7000 of the stalls to the authorities, while pocketing rent for the remaining 3000 stalls, earning an additional 250 US dollars a day.
Following the incident, the number of stalls has been reduced back to 7000. Traders in Sunam Market have an uneasy feeling that they too could be expelled someday.
The source consulted for the above information in North Korea added at the end of the phone conversation with the DailyNK, “The atmosphere during the New Year is noticeably tense and chilly. People are anticipating the usual arrogance of the authorities, even during the New Year holiday.”
