After the Ministry of State Security recently announced the start of a major crackdown on the users of illegal foreign cell phones, security agents in Hoeryong have been eager to make as many arrests as possible, Daily NK has learned.
The Ministry of State Security sent orders down to its North Hamgyong Province branch in early September to “carry out a mop-up campaign until they’ve totally eradicated Chinese cell phone users,” a source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Oct. 10, speaking on condition of anonymity. In the city of Hoeryong, these orders were relayed to local agents at a meeting on Oct. 4 attended by various officials, including department heads.
At the meetings, the head of the Hoeryong branch of the Ministry of State Security told those assembled that “even after we have intensified crackdowns and punishments against people using Chinese-made cell phones, the number of Chinese cell phone users continues to increase. This is proof that we as state security agents are not doing our jobs properly.”
The branch director also warned agents that “the concentrated crackdowns against Chinese cell phone users will be carried out through the end of November, and the results will be the material proof of our work. Those who have nothing to show [at the end of the crackdowns] will be sent out to the county [countryside].”
Following the meeting, security agents in the city have been eager to produce results as they carry out the intense crackdowns against illegal foreign cell phone users, the source said.
So far, the crackdown campaign has resulted in a string of misfortunes for families of defectors.
For example, an elderly man in his 70s was arrested at the end of last month after trying to receive a Chuseok gift of 1,500 RMB (USD 205) sent by a family member who had defected to South Korea. He was arrested alongside a remittance broker who used a Chinese cell phone to manage remittance payments.
“It’s unclear whether or not somebody reported them, but security agents swooped in and arrested the pair less than ten minutes after the broker entered the elderly man’s home to hand over the money sent [by his family],” the source said.
Security agents also confiscated the remitted money while arresting the elderly man, prompting him to yell at the agents, “Are you really going to steal the money sent so I could perform ancestral rites for Chuseok? You’ll all die well before your time!” His protests were loud enough that several neighbors gathered to investigate the noise.
A week later, the elderly man was sentenced to six months of forced labor and sent off to a forced labor camp, while the remittance broker remains under detention by the Ministry of State Security.
On Oct. 1, an individual who had borrowed a Chinese cell phone owned by a remittance broker was subjected to a full-house search by the Ministry of State Security. Security agents failed to find anything at the person’s house, but dragged them off to jail nonetheless, the source said.
“The person had a Chinese cell phone confiscated from them by the Ministry of State Security once already back in February, so they paid a remittance broker in May to lend them a Chinese cell phone. State security agents heard about this, which led to [the person’s arrest]. They were unfairly arrested on the basis of their previous actions even though no evidence was found at their house.
“Security agents will be assessed [by their superiors] depending on the number [of people they catch] in crackdowns, so their ability to keep their coveted positions is dependent on their results, leading to these kinds of incidents. If security agents get sent to the countryside, there’s not much in the way of bribes, and once you’re demoted, it is difficult to return to the municipal branch. So, they’re trying to protect their positions as if their lives are at stake.”
Remittance brokers and families of defectors are living under a dark cloud of unease as they wonder when and where security agents might show up to drag them away, the source added.
Translated by Rose Adams. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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