North Korean residents tasked with submitting state-set quotas of scrap iron are facing difficulties due to a recent spike in scrap iron prices.
“Excessive demand has caused a doubling in the price of scrap iron,” said a Ryanggang Province-based source on November 14. “The spike in prices has led to complaints among North Koreans that the ‘social tasks’ [quotas for scrap iron, etc.] handed down by the state each month are making their already difficult lives even harder.”
The authorities have ordered residents to collect even more scrap iron on top of the state-set quotas, leading to the increase in demand, a source in North Hamgyong Province added.
“In the past, residents could purchase a ‘scrap iron purchase certificate’ that could be submitted to avoid having to collect the iron,” he said. “But now authorities have stated that everyone must collect and submit their own quotas of scrap iron. State officials are ensuring that everyone is actively meeting or exceeding the requirements.”
Residents are faced with depleting financial resources to collect scrap iron, with some opting to steal factory equipment and machinery parts to meet their quotas.
The state-run publication Rodong Sinmun has meanwhile encouraged people to collect more scrap iron by publishing stories with headlines ranging from “Support the collection of more scrap iron!” and “Collect more scrap iron through mass movement!” to “Send more scrap iron to the metal factories!”
The Rodong Sinmun published an article on its front page on September 29 that stated, “The project aimed at sending more scrap iron to metal factories, which is the center of the charge to increase production in accordance with the goals laid out in the National Economic Development Five-Year Strategy, is now being conducted actively throughout society.
“As part of their contribution to the Iron Frontline Support Project, officials and workers in each part of the country are collecting more scrap iron than previously planned during the third and fourth quarters [of the year] and are sending them to several metal factories,” the piece continued.
In another article entitled “The Weight of Patriotism” published on September 5, justification for the collection of scrap iron was further emphasized through words attributed to Kim Jong Il: “The Great General [Kim Jong Il] taught us that the weight of crushed bricks and scrap iron is ultimately the same as the weight of patriotism aimed at contributing to the country.”
Ultimately, the North Korean state is focused on resolving the country’s chronic lack of raw materials and commodities through the mobilization of its population, and is trying to motivate people to do this under the pretext of completing the goals laid out by the National Economy Plan.
