North Korean authorities, fearing potential defections, have intensified surveillance and restrictions on relief workers brought to rebuild areas damaged by flooding along the Chinese border.
Speaking anonymously, a source in North Pyongan province said that government supervisors carry out five roll calls daily for workers from the Pyongyang external construction worker training office dispatched to flood-impacted parts of Sinuiju.
The external construction worker training office is affiliated with North Korea’s External Construction Guidance Bureau, which sends construction workers to Russia and other foreign countries. The construction workers assigned to the relief work are individuals who were supposed to be sent overseas or already have overseas experience.
The workers’ first head count occurs at 8 a.m. before work begins. After that initial assembly, all workers are sent to their respective worksites. Then, party officials go around the worksites in their jurisdiction around 10 a.m., when work is at its peak, to ensure all workers are present and accounted for.
Workers are assembled again at 2 p.m., just before work resumes after lunch, for a roll call of the whole group. There are two more head counts — one at 7 p.m., after work, and the last at 10 p.m., before lights out — for five attendance checks throughout the day.
In addition, the External Construction Guidance Bureau is holding 30-minute lectures for the workers each day, stressing that they “need to make progress in their work to repay the great trust of the party, which brought external construction workers to the battlefield of flood reconstruction.”
The External Construction Guidance Bureau is keeping such a close watch on the workers in its care because it fears that workers who have encountered foreign cultures while residing overseas could defect during their time in the border region, which gives them more chances to leave the country.
Heavy-handed measures implemented to prevent defections
In particular, the authorities are troubled by the fact that defections are now easier than ever because the torrential flooding washed away many barbed wire fences and security cameras.
“Workers with the training center were assigned to their areas as soon as they arrived and are said to be making quick progress on the reconstruction work, which includes building temporary houses. However, they’re also under excessive surveillance because their work sites are near China. The External Construction Guidance Bureau is on pins and needles in case they defect,” the source said.
These heavy-handed measures are very burdensome for External Construction Guidance Bureau workers. A worker surnamed Kim said, “I came back from overseas without betraying the fatherland, so I’m not sure what kind of worries are driving them to play these silly games.”
A worker surnamed Cho at the same worksite said, “We came when the party called us, and not because we’d committed some crime, but because they’re so mistrustful that they call roll five times a day. It makes me so angry that I feel the urge to actually cross the border. People don’t cross because of their families; they’re scared of (the government’s) controls.”
According to the source, “These people have all been sent to work in foreign countries like Kuwait and Russia, so they’ve already been vetted. It’s only natural for them to be annoyed about this excessive monitoring. The External Construction Guidance Bureau is anxious because residents of the border area watch many foreign videos and because it’s easy to get information about the outside world around here, which could potentially lead to more defections in areas affected by the flooding.”
Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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