Border guards manning checkpoints along the border in Uiju County, North Pyongan Province, were recently replaced for turning a blind eye to smuggling.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Daily NK source in North Pyongan Province said recently that the personnel were replaced on July 12 due to “the recent disappearance of a smuggler in Uiju County.”
According to the source, the man began smuggling in Uiju earlier this month with the tacit approval of the border patrol after bribing one of the checkpoint soldiers he knew.
Border guards are supposed to stop smuggling, but in North Korea they often take bribes to look the other way, to the point where people openly say that border guards make their living from smugglers’ bribes.
Problems arose, however, when the smuggler disappeared after crossing the Yalu River into China to deliver his goods. The man’s relatives reported his disappearance to the county police, who uncovered his smuggling activities during their investigation.
The incident exposed the corruption of the soldiers manning the border checkpoint in the area and their commander. After receiving a report on the matter, the Ministry of State Security launched a comprehensive inspection of border patrol checkpoints along the border.
“The Ministry of State Security began investigating whether this kind of illegal behavior was occurring at border patrol checkpoints in other regions,” the source said. “In the process, they found a similar problem at a checkpoint in Cholsan, so they ordered the surprise replacement of the checkpoint’s personnel.”
The Ministry of State Security ordered the dismissal and demotion of the commander and soldiers at the border patrol station where the problem occurred.
The border patrol unit where the problems occurred pledged to prevent illegal behavior in the future through thorough management and supervision, as it replaced its personnel with thoroughly vetted soldiers.
“Given the involvement of the Ministry of State Security, it’s going to be harder to smuggle in the border area of North Pyongan Province for a while,” the source said. “Although there have been similar incidents in the past, smuggling has never been completely stopped. Since even the border patrol needs money, it is likely that they will continue to take money to open the way for smuggling.”
Meanwhile, the smuggler who disappeared in the Uiju border area was found dead of drowning in the Yalu River a few days after he went missing.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.
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