On Feb. 10, North Korea’s Ministry of Social Security issued an order to curb and punish “criminal activity that causes social chaos and disturbs public sentiment,” a Daily NK reporting partner in South Pyongan Province reported on Tuesday.
The national police agency’s order said that fights between neighbors and even mob violence “over trivial issues,” along with theft and burglary, have recently become commonplace within some parts of the population, and called on local police agencies to “get a firm handle on all sorts of criminal activity that generates social insecurity and disturbs public sentiment, and apply strong legal punishments.”
Following the order from the Ministry of Social Security, South Pyongan Province’s branch of the ministry held a meeting of top cadres from local city and county police agencies on Feb. 11.
At the meeting, the provincial police agency called acts that cause social insecurity “treason” and ordered local police agencies to take thorough measures to prevent criminal activity that causes insecurity.
In regards to the order, Daily NK’s reporting partner said many people are stealing because it is hard to make a living nowadays.
“Before COVID, if you got caught stealing, you hightailed it away, but now, people try everything to make off with what they’ve stolen, even if they have to beat up someone. This has led to fights and situations where people’s lives have been put at risk,” he said. “This situation has led the Ministry of Social Security to take measures to [alleviate the problem].”
The reporting partner argued, however, that people are increasingly unhappy toward the authorities because they are trying to reduce criminal acts by calling them treasonous acts and punishing them through legal means, rather than trying to properly ascertain why these crimes are occurring in the first place.
MAN IN HIS 40S DIES AFTER ASSAULT BY THIEVES
In a related story, a man in his 40s died after being assaulted by a group of youths at Sunchon Station on Feb. 12. The youths pounced on the man and killed him after he caught them in the act of stealing.
However, police in Sunchon have not only failed to apprehend the assailants, they have also failed to take any measures despite similar crimes taking place everywhere, according to the reporting partner.
“No matter how much the central government orders police to prevent crime, there’s no point to it if the local police don’t do anything,” he said.
“It’s the police’s job to ensure a safe environment, but because police officers are struggling to put food on the table, too, they take money from criminals to look the other way,” the reporting partner continued, adding, “As long as there’s no solution to help police and ordinary locals make a living, there will inevitably be plenty of criminal activity that disturbs the social order.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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