Collective farm crop theft cases have been increasing due to the North Korean chronic food crisis, so a special instruction from Kim Jong Il himself to inflict severe punishment on crop thieves has been issued to every province in the country.
A source from North Hamkyung reported in a telephone interview with the Daily NK on August 30th that “An instruction from the General (Kim Jong Il), ‘On struggling violently against those who steal crops,’ has been issued to the whole nation, so in working places and the People’s Units people have started discussing the measure to protect the collective farm crops.”
According to the source, Kim Jong Il instructed cadres of the Party that ‘stealing crops from collective farms is the same as stealing national property, so you have to punish them severely,’ on August 13. The authorities reproduced this comment in the form of ‘the August 13 Policy’ and spread it as education material starting August 18th.
Another source from Yangkang Province also relayed the same news on the 29th, that “In order to comply with the August 13 Policy, a crop-protection guard consisting of strong men in their 30s-40s has been being organized on every farm. Although they are not armed yet, guns are to be supplied to farms when harvest season comes.
The North Korean authorities organized such guards, armed with the Type 38 Infantry Rifle, in order to protect crops in the late-1990s during the “March of Tribulation.”
“In every farm, the meetings were held according to the instruction of the General (Kim Jong Il) and the protection guard units were also organized. The leaders and cadres of the People’s Units and workplaces are threatening the residents and workers by saying that ‘if you disobey this instruction, you will be sentenced to a severe punishment,” the source explained.
The source reported the case where “Ms. Ko was sentenced to two months labor in a labor-training corps on suspicion of stealing radish from a collective farm in the vicinity of Yukjeon-dong in Hoiryeong on August 27.”
The source from Yangkang Province said that “Around 120 prisoners are now serving their sentences in the Hyesan labor-training corps and 80 of them were caught for stealing crops.” He added that “Although the instruction has taken effect, the stealing of crops has not been reduced. This is because even members of the protection guard are stealing them. Therefore, people point out sarcastically that thieves are trying to catch other thieves.”
