Daily NK Snapshots are synopses of select articles from our Korean website. Snapshots provide a window into Daily NK’s reporting and into everyday life and society within North Korea.
Roads Closed, Traffic Paralyzed by Unseasonable Heavy Snowfall in Yanggang Province
Beginning on Mar. 10, a series of heavy snowstorms paralyzed traffic in Yanggang Province. With roads impassable, vehicles were stopped en route. As of Mar. 16, drivers had been stranded for several days, unable to proceed to their destinations or return home. Many slept in their cars and struggled to find food because they had not brought any money on what they expected to be short drives. Kimhyongjik County and Kimjongsuk County (named after Kim Il Sung’s father and his first wife) in northwest Yanggang Province were hit particularly hard. Students in Kimjongsuk County had been studying at home for several days because the snow prevented them from attending nearby schools. The Yanggang Province People’s Committee mobilized all provincial enterprises and neighborhood watch units for snow removal, but manpower alone proved insufficient to deal with the heavy snowfall. With no outside help from labor brigades, the situation was especially hard on local women who had to participate in snow removal on top of making money and feeding their families.
Full Article in Korean by Lee Chae Un here.
Project Underway to Upgrade Underwater Surveillance Systems for Defense of Military Port Facilities
The North Korean Defense Ministry’s Bureau of Hydrography and the Academy for National Defense Science Maritime Research Institute have completed a two-year joint study on improving underwater surveillance for port defense. They reported the findings of their research, part of the five-year defense development plan that North Korea announced in 2021, at the end of last month. This project marks the first time that Kim Jong Un has worked with naval authorities to upgrade underwater surveillance, a crucial defense capability. As a result of the study, authorities have approved the deployment of new underwater electromagnetic sensing equipment at key military port facilities on the east and west coasts. Members of the joint research team are currently overseeing on-site preparations at port facilities under the jurisdiction of the 4th, 5th, 10th, and 11th Submarine Flotillas where they expect to install the new equipment by fall of this year, before eventually upgrading underwater surveillance systems at other military port facilities as well. The underwater electromagnetic sensing equipment will be incorporated into existing port defense systems, which have previously depended on sonar and radar.
Full article in Korean by Jeong Tae Joo here.
Facing Severe Threats to their Livelihood, Some Elderly in North Korea Choose to Take Their Own Lives
A source in South Hamgyong Province told Daily NK that elderly people in Yonggwang County are suffering severely due to lack of food. Many elderly North Koreans previously depended on help from their adult children and income from street vending. Since the beginning of the COVID crisis, however, the government has cracked down on street vendors and many children cannot afford to support their parents. North Koreans who worked until retirement age receive monthly stipends from the government, but these stipends are not nearly enough to buy adequate amounts of food. Those who are ineligible for the stipends are in an even more precarious position. Under these conditions, instances of suicide by elderly people with means to support themselves are increasing. One couple in Yonggwang County, already unable to feed themselves adequately or get help from their adult children, took their own lives recently when the husband’s untreated tuberculosis made their situation unbearable. According to the source, starving elderly people can be seen everywhere, but the government is not taking any measures to address their distressing situation.
Full Article in Korean by Lee Chae Un here.
Summaries by Nick Seltzer. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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