Five people allegedly involved in burglaries and murders in Chongjin were publicly executed in late August for “causing public disorder and sowing fear,” Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK last Thursday that “two of the executed individuals began burglarizing homes in Ranam District in May due to hardships so bad they couldn’t even put a single meal on the table, and were caught after they fled when they killed somebody and made off with KPW 2 million.”
The two were arrested after the murder they committed was caught on a CCTV installed in a nearby apartment. “The camera had been useless because there’d been no power, but by chance the electricity was on at the time and they got caught red-handed,” the source said.
North Hamgyong Province police inspectors hardpressed the pair, believing they could be suspects in another murder. The two eventually confessed to another killing, a grizzly murder in late April in which they desecrated and abandoned the corpse.
Another of the executed men murdered a person for refusing to buy some electrical cables he had stolen. “Selling stolen cables has long been a serious crime, and since he killed somebody as well, he was executed,” the source said.
Public unease grows amid rising crime
The source explained that there has been a string of serious crimes in Chongjin this year, including murder, which have led to unease among the general public.
In fact, the source estimated that one or two murders occur in the city per month, and that some of the killers have not yet been caught.
“With frequent murders occurring, most people say if a burglar enters your home, you shouldn’t try to chase him out, but simply do what they say to stay alive. I don’t know if it’s because times are growing tougher, but it’s confusing to witness a society where burglaries are on the rise and murders — which used to happen just three or so times a year at most – now happen twice a month.”
North Korean authorities appear to be aware of the growing public unease and likely conducted the recent public executions to set an example for others. However, most people in Chongjin remain skeptical, doubting whether the “sound of gunfire will reduce crime,” the source said.
“Crime is born of hardship from food shortages. The authorities are trying to solve the crime problem with gunfire without resolving the hunger problem, so public sentiment is growing even worse. As long as there’s no solution to the fundamental problem — that there’s no rice to put in rice sacks — crime won’t cease, even if the government shoots criminals.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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