After a teenage girl in Pyongyang went missing in early April, a month-long police investigation into her whereabouts has yielded no results, a reporting partner in Pyongyang told Daily NK last Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
The reporting partner said that the economic situation for many North Koreans has gradually deteriorated since the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic. People in all parts of the country are struggling to make a living and, as a result, robberies are on the rise.
He further explained that a general sense of anxiety is intensifying across North Korean society, and a growing number of people are willing to resort to any and all means to survive. There has also been a spate of child abductions recently, which has caused anxiety among many parents.
Kidnappers use the children as hostages to threaten and extort ransom money from their families. Parents who have little time to look after their children due to work are particularly nervous about these crimes, the reporting partner said.
“Child abductions are even taking place in Pyongyang these days. The recent onslaught of crime, including kidnappings, just goes to show the extremes that people are being pushed toward. The government knows that child abductions are a serious problem in both the capital and in other areas of the country. It has increased patrols and heightened punishments against criminals.”
Seven-year-old abducted in Pyongyang in March
Last March, a kidnapper was arrested by the Ministry of Social Security after abducting a seven-year-old in the western area of Pyongyang and attempting to extort money from the child’s family.
March’s abduction suggests that the girl in her teens has also been abducted, the reporting partner said.
However, despite the fact that the teenage girl has been missing for over a month, the family has not received any threatening phone calls or any other forms of contact.
“The Ministry of Social Security is mobilizing every method at its disposal, including phone taps, to try to find the missing girl. Some people believe that the kidnapper has taken notice of the ministry’s efforts and is biding time until the crackdowns against kidnappings ease up. Others have condemned the criminal, saying that if the kidnapper is caught, they will almost certainly face the death penalty.”
The reporting partner also noted that many people are saying that the recent crime wave ultimately stems from the lack of food, and that increasing punishments toward criminals will be useless without first addressing the fact that people are struggling to survive.
Translated by Rose Adams. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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