North Korean munitions factories in North Pyongan and Chagang provinces are ramping up production so much that they are mobilizing ordinary people living nearby, with mobilized workers participating in the production of artillery shells.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a Daily NK source in North Korea said Monday that ordinary people have been working at munition factories in North Pyongan and Chagang provinces for more than one month.
Operations spiked at munition factories immediately after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un returned from his recent visit to Russia, leading factory managers to mobilize nearby people to take part in production activities, according to the source.
Daily NK reported in October that people previously engaged in making eyelashes and wigs were being mobilized to work in munition factories.
The source told Daily NK that “the workers currently engage in preparatory or post-production work, not technical processes to produce shells and other weapons.” In short, they do relatively simple things such as cleaning, painting or packaging the products.
However, factory officials have told mobilized workers nothing about the munitions being exported to Russia.
That being said, the source said that Russia has “ordered a great deal [of munitions],” and that the authorities “don’t suddenly send ordinary factory workers to work in munition factories to produce items required domestically.” This suggests that ordinary people have been mobilized to produce munitions for export.
Many people mobilized to the munition factories wish to return to their original workplaces as soon as possible because they are making less than when they were producing eyelashes and wigs at contract manufacturing facilities, the source said.
Ordinary people mobilized to work in munition factories received 15 kilograms of rice, liquor, cigarettes, snacks, and other food items last month. However, because they were paid in cash when they worked in contract manufacturing plants, they say receiving cash is much better than receiving food, according to the source.
“People mobilized to the munition factories will continue to work there until at least the end of the year. Because a lot of people think work at the factories has accelerated since those people were mobilized, they might have to work there several more months next year, too.”
North Korean authorities recently issued supplies to munition factories while announcing that “in current circumstances, when the US imperialists and South Korean puppets are intensifying their schemes, factories must produce many weapons to wipe out the enemies all at once,” and that “we can defend the people and our socialism with our self-defense capabilities only when we produce lots of munitions.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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