The number of personnel at the “Tallaegang Guard Post,” the gateway between Sinuiju and Pyongyang in Chongju, North Pyongan Province, has reportedly tripled since the restart of freight train service between North Korea and China.
The measure is in preparation for bringing imported supplies currently in quarantine at Uiju Airfield into Pyongyang. Uiju Airfield is where freight entering the western region of the country is processed.
The measure also suggests the authorities will bolster quarantines and inspections for imported goods. That is to say, they intend to protect the “leadership of the revolution” by stopping COVID-19 from entering the capital.
According to multiple sources in North Korea last Friday, the Central Emergency Anti-epidemic Headquarters issued the order to triple personnel to North Pyongan Province on Jan. 21. Local authorities commenced follow-up measures immediately, “as if they were training for wartime mobilization,” the source said.
Personnel at Tallaegang Guard Post were tripled at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 24.
In the past, about eight to 10 personnel per shift manned the four substations at Tallaegang Guard Post: a Ministry of State Security post, a military police post, an “empty car inspection post,” and a quarantine post. The source said the latest decision raised the total to 25 personnel.
North Korean authorities also strengthened the area’s quarantine system. Previously, the quarantine post was the only facility that handled quarantines and inspections. Now, all posts must conduct these duties.
In short, goods headed to Pyongyang must first pass through quarantine inspections at all four checkpoints, each one located one kilometer from the next.
North Korean authorities have supplied each post with chemical reagents, chairs and tables, antiseptic solution, measuring devices, disinfecting gear, and other equipment needed for quarantine and inspection duties.
With the new procedures in place, people and supplies are expected to spend two or even three hours undergoing quarantine inspections at just these four checkpoints.
Some North Koreans are complaining that pledges by North Korean authorities to ensure “convenience for the people” amid quarantine efforts are once again ringing hollow given the leadership’s need to “ensure the safety of Pyongyang.”
The source told Daily NK that some North Koreans are complaining that official pledges to avoid inconveniencing the people will come to nothing if the government makes more “noxious checkpoints” compared to last year.
Meanwhile, propaganda vehicles have been in the streets for consecutive days pushing the state’s emergency quarantine efforts, just as they did during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The source said “advanced quarantine” and “people’s quarantine” efforts are intensifying with bolstered crackdowns, controls, and regulations.
Some North Koreans also worry that corruption at Tallaegang Guard Post could grow rife, with personnel targeting locals for bribes, the source said.
The Tallaegang Guard Post has already become the second-most powerful guardpost in the country behind the Sunhwagang Guard Post, and the latest order has given them even more power to indulge in corruption, he said.
