Police officers in North Korea’s border regions are still demanding money from local residents, but they’re doing it with smaller requests and gentler tactics — a shift that reflects both the public’s diminished finances and authorities’ intensified corruption crackdowns.
“Police officers in Hoeryong have recently visited wealthier residents to demand money, explaining that they need it to prepare for winter,” a source told Daily NK recently. “However, unlike in years past, they are asking for less money, and they’re being nice about it, which people find strange.”
For police to demand money and other valuables from the public is a time-honored tradition. The practice of police officers watching the backs of entrepreneurial locals in exchange for bribes in the pre-COVID era, when smuggling and other forms of illicit commerce were prevalent in border regions, has become customary, with officers repeatedly demanding money — supposedly for household expenses or to prepare for winter.
Smaller demands, gentler approach
Recently, however, police officers have asked for less money. In the past, they mostly asked for sums exceeding 500 Chinese yuan ($70), but now, demands rarely exceed that amount, and people try to comply as much as they can within their means.
The officers’ attitudes have also changed. In the past, they would threaten or coerce people into coughing up the money, but nowadays, they ask for money more carefully, usually by explaining their difficult circumstances.
According to the source, a police officer in Hoeryong visited one household on Sept. 12 to request 300 yuan ($42). The officer framed the demand as a kind request, explaining that he was rushing to buy seasonings for the upcoming kimchi-making season before prices climbed, and that he would pay the man back later or help him if needed.
In the past, the officer would have been coercive, demanding the man “cough up something” as if he were a debt collector. This time, however, he asked nicely, even evoking a sense of compassion, the source said.
Two factors appear to be behind the change. First, even police officers recognize that people have less money and cannot meet their previous demands. Second, police are afraid they could be punished as authorities intensify crackdowns to eliminate corruption.
“Police officers are exercising extreme caution when demanding money because they could lose their jobs if they’re hit with corruption charges on top of their poor performance,” the source said.
State fails to support officers
As the attitude of police — who used to demand money as a matter of course — begins to soften, people are calling on the state to pay greater attention to ensuring officers’ livelihoods.
Unable to receive rations from the state, police officers have long taken money from the public under various pretexts to support their families. But with private smuggling nearly at a standstill, collecting bribes in return for protecting smugglers has become more challenging.
“Frankly, even police officers find it hard to make a living,” the source said. “The state should ensure their livelihood, but it doesn’t while telling them not to take bribes, causing a contradiction.”
“With police officers having little choice but to demand money from the public, officers are asking for help politely rather than coercively in consideration of the public’s circumstances and their own situation, but we’ll need to see how long their attitudes last.”
