North Korea distributed holiday gifts to cadres of party and government organizations on the Day of the Shining Star (Feb. 16, Kim Jong Il’s birthday), Daily NK has learned.
A Daily NK investigation found that the holiday gifts varied from region to region and from organization to organization, both in terms of the items provided and the amount.
A source in Pyongyang gave Daily NK the following summary on Tuesday: “Central Committee officials received their holiday gifts between Feb. 11 and 14. In addition to their monthly rations, they received two kilograms of pork, a duck, a chicken, a box of eggs, 10 kilograms of pollock, fruits, dried seaweed, sweets, five kilograms of wheat, 4.5 kilograms of oil, and 10 bottles of fine alcohol.
“On Feb. 14 and 15, municipal party committee cadres received one chicken, two bottles of alcohol, and ten eggs, and district party committee officials received one kilogram of sticky rice, 500 grams of pork, one bottle of regular alcohol and one kilogram of artificial meat on Feb. 15,” the source added.
According to the same source, cadres in the North Korean Cabinet received shipments consisting of two kilograms of wheat, two kilograms of glutinous rice, one kilogram of cooking oil, one kilogram of pork, one chicken, 20 eggs, and four bottles of fine alcohol on Feb. 13 and 14, while cadres in the Pyongyang People’s CommitteeNorth Korean people's committees are akin to local governmen... More received one kilogram of starch, one bottle of alcohol, and four frozen persimmons on Feb. 15.
Officials at a factory in Pyongchon district received a bottle of alcohol, 500 grams of meat analog, half a bottle of cooking oil, and three eggs on Feb. 15.
The report shows differences in the categories and quantities of rations between party and government agencies and between the Central Committee and subordinate organizations in Pyongyang. The cadres of the Central Committee, the most powerful body in the country, received many more categories of rations and much larger quantities in each category than officials of other organizations.
However, Central Committee cadres did not receive as much for this holiday as they have in the past, or as they did for the recent Lunar New Year holiday. This has led some to speculate that the North Korean government was hard-pressed to cover several shipments in a row last month, the source said.
Gaps in provisions outside of Pyongyang
Similar differences between organizations in terms of the categories and quantities of holiday deliveries were also observed outside the capital.
“Holiday gifts were smaller in quantity than in the past, and there was a big gap between deliveries for the provincial party committee and the provincial people’s committeeNorth Korean people's committees are akin to local governmen... More,” said a source in South Pyongan Province.
According to the source, provincial party committee cadres received one kilogram of rice, five kilograms of wheat, one kilogram of pork, one bottle of alcohol, and one bottle of cooking oil, while provincial people’s committeeNorth Korean people's committees are akin to local governmen... More officials received one kilogram of white rice, one kilogram of wheat and one bottle of alcohol.
This matched up with the report of a source in Kangwon Province. “The cadres of the Wonsan Party Committee received one kilogram of pork, one kilogram of artificial meat, one kilogram of tofu, two bottles of cooking oil, two liters of alcohol, two skewers of dried persimmon, three duck eggs, and three cartons of cigarettes on Feb. 15. But the cadres of the municipal people’s committeeNorth Korean people's committees are akin to local governmen... More received [only] one kilogram of potatoes, one kilogram of sweet potatoes, one kilogram of artificial meat, one bottle of alcohol, and two frozen Napa cabbages on the same day.”
Thus, the same disparity in the types and quantities of gifts between party and government offices that was seen in Pyongyang appears to have been replicated in the provinces.
Complaints in Hyesan
Meanwhile, Daily NK understands that some ordinary citizens in Hyesan, Yanggang Province, complained that they did not receive the kind of holiday gifts given to officials working for the government.
“In Hyesan, the delivery of the holiday rations for the Day of the Shining Star began on Feb. 12. Cadres from the municipal party committee received a kilogram of pork, a five-liter can of cooking oil, a kilogram of sugar, and a bottle of Chinese liquor,” said a source in Yanggang Province.
“Ordinary citizens couldn’t help but feel bitter about the lack of rations for them. One person said, ‘In this country, only cadres are treated like people, not ordinary citizens.’ Another said, ‘I didn’t expect anything, but it’s ridiculous and disheartening to see that only cadres get holiday rations,'” the source said.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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