North Korea’s national police agency recently issued orders to crack down on people involved in the brewing of illegal alcohol, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Monday that “the North Pyongan Province branch of the Ministry of Social Security issued orders in early February for agents to crack down on and punish illegal alcohol brewing and related activities by mid-March.”
The unusual level of detail in the orders, however, appears to have surprised many even within the police department. The directive explicitly named specific areas where the majority of illegal alcohol production takes place, as well as other concrete details about how brewing activities are carried out.
The orders singled out Sinuiju’s Ragwon and Rakchong districts as hotspots for illegal brewing activities.
According to the directive, the area had been home to a distillery during the Japanese colonial period, and the well in the nearby Seokha district was rumored to have particularly high-quality water. As a result, many people in the area make a living by secretly brewing and selling alcohol. It is estimated that 80% of the bootleg alcohol in Sinuiju comes from homes in these neighborhoods.
The orders also revealed that the yeast needed to brew alcohol was produced by former employees of the State Academy of Sciences in Pyongsong, South Pyongan Province. The yeast was then shipped from Pyongsong to Sinuiju by commissioned trucks.
Accordingly, officials were instructed to cut off moonshine production at the source by using the Ministry of Social Security’s No. 10 checkpoints to stop and inspect vehicles and personnel traveling on major roads. The instructions also outlined severe penalties for trucks caught transporting yeast, including the revocation of operating licenses.
The ministry’s orders further emphasized that the order to crack down on bootleg alcohol production came directly from the Workers’ Party of Korea. Officers were instructed to confiscate anything and everything from illegal brewers and other related parties.
“The Ministry of Social Security urged officers to mercilessly confiscate everything from brewing machines and stills to liquor jars and nuruk [traditional fermentation starter] containers, as well as the rice used to make liquor. In addition, officers have also been told to expose and fine all people who buy home-brewed liquor to sell in the markets,” the source said.
“If a person is found to be involved in illegal brewing, the Ministry of Social Security will notify the person’s social organization. In this way, the individual is likely to be subjected to a fierce ideological struggle by his or her organization for brazenly engaging in non-socialist activities.”
Translated by Rose Adams. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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