Certain areas bordering China in Yangkang
Province have been labeled “danger zones” as the latest effort by the North Korean authorities to beef up
surveillance and inspections in the region. This move, in conjunction with the installation of new radio wave detectors to track down those making international calls, is the latest measure aimed at preventing defections and information from spilling outside the borders.
“In a recent inminban [people’s unit] meeting, there was a lecture on how certain areas adjacent
to the border such as Hyesan and Baekam County have been designated ‘danger zones’ by the State Security
Department [SSD],” a source in Yangkang Province told
the Daily NK on Wednesday.
In the meeting, people were informed, “Compared to other areas, anti-state crimes are more prevalent in
Yangkang Province,” and “just
like infected areas need to be cut off in order to prevent the infection from
spreading, rebellious groups in society need to be discarded,” according to the source.
“Heads of enterprises and even their
assistants were told to actively participate in recollecting lecture and study
materials [distributed at the meetings],” he explained.
“This is because there have been cases last year where people leaked sensitive political information and lecture material
to the outside, so Party cadres are also being more cautious.”
In such cases, North Korean residents
involved in smuggling goods in from China sell the sensitive documents to their
Chinese counterparts, who then turn them over to the South Korean government for significant profits. Such incidents are rare, as anyone caught involved in such
an operation would face the gravest of consequences.
“Upon receiving orders from the SSD, local
security units have been reviewing their inminban logs with greater scrutiny.
Previously, people only had to report the location of their accommodation or residence once a
day, but now if there are any changes, they are required to report them
immediately,” the source said. “Also, instead of simply registering people from other areas,
inminban personnel now visit each household to carry out detailed inspections.”
“At 5a.m. you have security agents
patrolling the streets,” he went on. “Homes on the special surveillance list are watched over day and night.”
He added that a number of residents in
Hyesan had recently been caught making international phone calls and were
immediately taken to the provincial unit of the SSD; they had still not been
granted visitation rights or access to their clothing or other personal
belongings during his conversation with Daily NK. “We haven’t heard
of their release yet, so it seems they are still being interrogated,” he asserted.
This new environment of ever-increasing
inspections has those dependent on smuggling the most concerned, “Smugglers who used to make calls out of the country without qualms
are taking more precautions in making them and carrying out their
illicit trade operations,” the source explained.
“The authorities are on edge with the
recent fire that ravaged Samjiyon, so if you get caught this time around, they
might use you to set an example,” some smugglers have
said. “If they hit you, you have to at least pretend to
cry,” warning each other to act accordingly and be as careful as possible.
