The North Korean authorities restricted the movements of its citizens because of the tense political situation on Mar. 4, the first day of the “Freedom Shield” joint military drills between South Korea and the U.S., Daily NK has learned.
A source in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK last Thursday that the North Korean authorities abruptly gave orders forbidding citizens from leaving their place of residence on that day. Those orders forced people who were elsewhere to return home immediately.
Mar. 4 marked the beginning of Freedom Shield, which provoked an angry response from the North Korean government. In a statement released the next day, the spokesperson of North Korea’s Ministry of Defense denounced “the reckless military drills of the U.S. and the ROK for getting more undisguised in their military threat to a sovereign state and attempt for invading it. [. . .] The U.S. and the ROK will be made to pay a dear price for their false choice while realizing that it causes their security uneasiness at a serious level every moment.”
In effect, North Korea angrily objected to the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises as being an attempted invasion before a foreign audience while tightening restrictions domestically.
The sudden travel restrictions were very disruptive for North Koreans who were visiting other areas for work or official business.
A wholesaler named “A” in North Pyongan Province who supplies marketplaces with domestically produced goods and imported goods was visiting Pyongsong to pick up some products on Mar. 4.
He had been planning to transport products from Pyongsong at the time, but when the travel restrictions were imposed, he had to return home empty-handed. Since he had already paid for the products, he was extremely concerned that the restrictions would remain in place for a long time, causing him serious financial harm.
A trucker named “B” living in Sinuiju, North Pyongan Province, was in Pyongsong on the same day to transport goods, but when the orders came through, he had to return to Sinuiju without being able to do his job.
As this suggests, the travel restrictions appear to have temporarily paralyzed shipping and distribution in North Korea, keeping goods from reaching markets in time.
Some express anger at US and South Korea
Many North Koreans voiced their anger at the country’s authorities for restricting travel without any warning.
The source noted that people complain that their livelihood is negatively affected by tension running high so often and remark that a little advance notice would make it easier to run their business.
But some North Koreans voiced their frustration at South Korea and the U.S. for carrying out the joint military drills.
“Tensions are high all year round because of the puppet regime,” one person said.
“It’s hard to get by when these groups are trying to crush the Republic,” another complained.
Such responses appear to be influenced by North Korean propaganda, which blames the South Korea-U.S. joint military drills for high tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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