North Hamgyong Province’s police agency is requiring people to update their power generator registrations, which has caused panic not only among seafood wholesalers, who need generators to keep their products frozen, but also among private fuel vendors.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Thursday that the provincial police bureau began requiring the re-registration of generators on Mar. 16 following a decision by the provincial party committee.
Provincial police are currently conducting random inspections of factories and businesses in Chongjin and Kimchaek to check the number and types of generators, along with their wattage and hours of use, and to identify and confiscate any unregistered generators that may be in use.
“The provincial police say that many organizations have registered only two generators but are actually operating ten or more, and they intend to confiscate all illegal generators,” the source said.
“The police are stressing that no mistakes will be tolerated in checking whether the number of registered generators matches the number actually in use and whether organizations are using more generators than they actually need.”
The provincial police also said they intend to confiscate all generators owned by private individuals.
“This police crackdown is related to the fact that seafood wholesalers in coastal areas such as Chongjin and Kimchaek often use unregistered generators to freeze seafood they intend to sell,” the source said.
The seafood wholesalers were stunned by the sudden crackdown by the provincial police and are unsure what to do with their frozen fish if the police take away their generators.
“It’s like a bolt out of the blue. Just when business was picking up after three terrible years of the pandemic, the government is tightening the screws,” complained one wholesaler.
Private fuel vendors are also in the crosshairs, the source said, with provincial police declaring the private buying and selling of fuel to run generators illegal.
Rise in fuel imports from Russia
What began as a crackdown on unregistered generators is now affecting not only seafood wholesalers, but also private fuel vendors.
“Running a freezer on a generator requires about three kilograms of fuel per day. The police agency is focusing not only on the private purchase of generator fuel, but also on the private sale of such fuel, and intends to stamp out both illegal practices,” the source said.
“While more fuel has been coming into the country from Russia recently, the police are determined to keep diesel and gasoline out of the hands of private vendors,” the source added.
Private fuel vendors are on edge as police are telling seafood wholesalers with unregistered generators that they will be shown leniency if they squeal on their source of fuel.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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