Mines affiliated with Bureau 39 have failed to achieve their targets for the first half of the year because of worker desertion and poor discipline, Daily NK has learned.
“Unsan Mine [gold] and other mines affiliated with Bureau 39 failed to meet their production quotas for the first half of the year,” a source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. “Absenteeism has climbed, and even the workers who show up don’t work hard, so the mines ran into trouble carrying out their plans.”
Bureau 39 is the office tasked with managing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s slush funds.
According to the source, worker absenteeism has grown more pronounced since the COVID-19 pandemic. This is because workers — who no longer receive rations or wages — are finding ways to put bread on the table themselves instead of showing up to work.
North Korean authorities are cracking down on “workplace deserters,” but faced with hardship, locals are refusing to return to work. Instead, they are earning a living — barely — as they wander about.
The authorities are also taking issue with party officials who are discouraging workers through inappropriate words and actions, despite their remit to provide workforce leadership and prevent falls in production, the source said.
“[The Workers’ Party] took issue with a party cadre at Unsan Mine who, while recently criticizing workers for not showing up to work or for not working hard, said something along the lines of, ‘Only if workers show up and dig out a lot of gold can the Supreme Leader’s moneybags grow.’ He was criticized for saying something inappropriate for a party cadre and unbecoming of a party official.
“[The party] said even if problems are arising in securing the party’s vital funds, it was a serious problem for him to talk so lightly. It is now considering whether to sack the cadre.”
In short, the authorities took issue with how a cadre hurt workforce solidarity with his inappropriate comments and behavior – even hindering the achievement of production targets.
The authorities are now conducting a sweeping inspection of Bureau 39-affiliated organizations following these relevations, the source added.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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