A Ministry of State Security agent was recently fired on by border patrol troops as he was trying to smuggle tobacco in Yongchon County, on the Sino-North Korean border in North Pyongan Province.
A source in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Monday that in late November, a Ministry of State Security agent was “trying to secretly trade tobacco with the backing of his ministry’s cadres” at the border in Yongchon County when he was “fired upon by the border patrol.” This has led to “secret strife between the Ministry of State Security and border patrol,” he added.
According to the source, the agent, who is affiliated with the Ministry of State Security branch in Sinuiju, got on a boat loaded with tobacco at around 9 PM, the hour he agreed to meet a Chinese trader. He was reportedly working in collusion with the provincial branch of the Ministry of State Security and the security officer with a local border patrol unit.
The agent launched the smuggling attempt when no border guard post commander was present; however, when the commander suddenly appeared, the tobacco transaction was aborted, the source said.
In fact, the border patrol guard post commander was alerted to the illegal activity when he saw a boat heading towards Chinese territory along with another boat coming from Chinese territory. The commander ordered border guard troops to fire about 20 rounds at the ships. Startled by the gunfire, the boat from the Chinese side hastily took flight, ending the smuggling operation.
“The border patrol found an agent from the [Sinuiju branch of the] Ministry of State Security, who pleaded that they turn a blind eye to what happened, but the angry guard post commander mercilessly confiscated the tobacco and arrested the agent,” the source said.
Friction reportedly developed between the Ministry of State Security and border patrol when the ministry intervened to retake all of the seized tobacco as well as recover its arrested agent, saying it would handle him on its own.
The ministry reportedly claimed the smuggling had the approval of the Ministry of State Security leadership in Pyongyang because the smuggling operation was “required for the state.”
The source said the border guards “meekly gave up the captured agent and the confiscated tobacco,” but they are “gritting their teeth,” saying they “won’t overlook how the Ministry of State Security wields its authority to disrupt their border defense duties, disrespecting them and acting however it likes.”
Meanwhile, the source added that rumor of the incident reached workers on the 4.25 Tobacco Farm in Onsong County, North Hamgyong Province, further dashing hopes that they may begin exporting their tobacco again.
