Several universities in Sinuiju recently suspended classes for three days so that students could focus on water collection after water pipes burst due to an unprecedented cold snap and recurring power outages.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source told Daily NK on Wednesday that students at four universities specializing in teacher training, light industry, and agriculture were called up on Jan. 22 and assigned to water collection details instead of their classroom studies for three days.
Burst pipes are a recurring problem at North Korean universities, sometimes because of the severe cold and sometimes because of a lack of electricity. In the past, the water problem would have been solved by assigning only a portion of the students to work details.
But this year was different. University officials concluded that the ongoing disruption of water service to dormitories, cafeterias, and other facilities was so severe that they needed to call in all of the university’s students to address the problem quickly. But the burst pipes were not easy to fix, and students ended up spending a full three days hauling water, the source said.
But that was not the end of the matter. The problem was immediately reported to the provincial branch of the Workers’ Party of Korea, which called an emergency meeting on the evening of Jan. 25. The meeting was attended by officials of the four universities that had decided to suspend classes.
“The meeting was held as soon as the report was received because the officials were afraid of being punished. Large companies and technical departments from the people’s committees were assigned to deal with the water supply problems at each of the universities,” the source said.
In addition, provincial departments and technical staff in charge of urban management and water supply management were hastily dispatched to assess and report on the water supply in all institutions, enterprises, childcare centers, and kindergartens that faced similar problems.
In particular, officials at the city and county levels, as well as enterprises and public organizations, were ordered to “draw up revolutionary plans for solving problems with plumbing and drinking water during the winter months,” and the provincial party committee also agreed to mobilize not only the province’s “shock troops” of construction workers but also the regular army to work in problem areas during the winter, the source said.
In a related development, university officials who suspended classes on their own initiative without waiting for permission were not punished or forced to attend struggle sessions. Locals and students were shocked that their actions had instead prompted the provincial Party committee to take its own measures to solve the problems.
Others, however, remain critical. “The government will never be able to solve the electricity and water problems,” one person said, according to the source. “They can hold hundreds of ’emergency meetings,’ but that’s as far as they’ll go,” noted another.
These comments suggest that many North Koreans do not believe that fundamental problems in the country’s water and electricity infrastructure will be fixed any time soon.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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