Dead Bodies Found Along the Road in Pyongyang
The Rodong Shinmun and other media corporations in North Korea do not report on accidents that occur. There are never any reports on incidents such as explosions, fires, murders, suicides or theft.
In the past, former communist blocs such as the Soviet Union did not report on any accidents either. In idealist communist societies, accidents can never officially occur and hence reports are never made in the news.
If during the period of food shortage in the mid-90’s, a report had been made stating that 3mn people had died of hunger, the Kim Jong Il government would have collapsed.
However, particularly following the mass food shortage, many different accidents and even murders have occurred in North Korea. As the importance of money materialized after the 2002 July 1st measures, more accidents occurred in relation to money.
If an accident does occur, similar to South Korea, punishment is sentenced according to law. Nevertheless, as the majority of security agents (police) are caught in corruption, it is easy to avoid the margins of law by offering a bribe to those in power.
More recently, crimes are being correlated to people acting out for survival. On collating news received from inside sources related to North Korea’s public peace, we were able to speculate on the different crimes and accidents occurring in North Korea today.
◆ Murder cover-up = Recently, a body has been found daily along Unification Street in Nakrang-district, Pyongyang.
According to police from Pyongyang’s Unification Street, “Ever since the mass starvation began in the mid-90’s, a body has been found daily in the neighborhood of Unification Street and surrounds of the Daedong River.”
Unification Street is an area that was constructed as a new street in the late 80’s. This location is Pyongyang’s representative area to foreign propaganda with high rise buildings and large scale markets. However, construction was not completed as the economy continued to fall and Unification Street became an unfinished construction site.
The source said, “There are many buildings in Unification Street which have suspended work or are still undergoing construction. With the Daedong River nearby, it is a prime location to dump dead bodies.”
“Many times the bodies are found severed” said the source and added, “In most cases, authorities do get involved but often nothing is resolved.”
◆ Banished to the country for murder, assault and theft = As of this year, ex-convicts from the educational training center in Pyongyang will be banished to the country.
A source in Pyongyang said, “People expelled to the country include a wide-range of criminals from people who committed murder, assault, malicious threats, distributed illegal visual materials or to people who watched these materials and people who used electricity illegally” and informed, “At the least, drivers who broke the law are being exempt from expulsion.”
The source explained that people accessing electricity illegally were being strictly regulated lately.
“As of last year October until February this year, the person in charge of the 7.17 committee enforced control under the influence of the security headquarters” said the source.
People who had accessed electricity illegally were people who had used their electric rice cookers which are banned throughout the nation, or people who installed privately electricity into the walls of their homes for central heating.
The source relayed, “In order to raise the effectiveness of control, security headquarters makes sure that the 7.17 committee comprises of young people. Competition is invigorated amongst the districts where they each have to report on the actual numbers.”
◆ People’s army stealing = Further, acts of theft occurs amongst average soldiers in association to the elite People’s army.
A source from Hamheung informed, “Soldiers who will be shortly discharged are the ones to commit this act. This is to collate money before they return to their homes.” On average, North Korean soldiers must serve the military for 7~10 years.
The source said, “Part of the money stolen is given to platoon leaders and commanders” and revealed, “Even the leaders and commanders from the elite clearly know of this fact. But, either they are involved or they have given the order directly.”
“Normally you get passed onto the military departments, if a soldier is caught by social security agents (police officers) and so punishment is rare” the source added.
