Shenyang, China — In late-2008 the North Korean authorities issued a decree converting state-operated permanent markets into “10-day markets (opening once every 10 days),” but, in anticipation of resistance from citizens, implementation of the measure is now being delayed.
A Pyongyang source said in a phone conversation with Daily NK on the 7th, “Until now, markets in Pyongyang have been opening at 2 PM every day and operating normally. They are only closed once a week, on Mondays as usual.”
The source said, “However, the People’s CommitteeNorth Korean people's committees are akin to local governmen... More Merchandise Sales Maintenance Office ordered the conversion to the 10-day markets last year and absolutely prohibited the sale of imported goods. However, it is difficult to procure rice or vegetables if there is no jangmadang and the merchants, without earnings, will be forced to rely on rations. But the state is not in a position to provide for the citizens right now.”
“Many citizens therefore say, ‘How will we live when they convert the jangmadang into a farmers market where only vegetables are sold?’ The authorities know that opposition from citizens will be considerable, so the maintenance office has not been able to convert to the 10-day markets.”
However, the sale of imported industrial goods from China such as clothing, shoes, cosmetics, kitchen utensils and bathing products has become more restricted in the market. Subsequently, street markets or sales of such goods through personal networks have become increasingly popular.
The source noted, “Inspection units regulate the markets with one eye closed and the other eye open, so it is not as if selling is impossible. With a bribe of a few packs of cigarettes, it is easy to be passed over by the units. However, the sale of industrial goods has rapidly decreased and, if unlucky, one can have his or her goods taken, so the number of empty street-stands has been increasing.”
The North Korean authorities have purportedly ordered three nationwide decrees on market regulation.
First, convert the permanent markets to 10-day ones. Second, vegetables, fruits, and meat grown by private citizens can be sold in the markets, but imported goods or those made by state-owned companies cannot be sold. Lastly, in order to remove the professional merchants, the authorities announced it was to get rid of fixed sales spots and allot spots on a first-come, first-served basis at the markets.
However, the source relayed that the realization of the decrees will be difficult.
“It has even been difficult in Pyongyang, where rations are provided, to convert to 10-day markets due to opposition from citizens, so restricting sales in the provinces, where there is virtually no state provision, is impossible in reality. It is highly likely that the recent measure will end as an ineffective decree, like the ones to prohibit the jangmadang or the sale of grain,” he expressed.
The source added, “Since December, rations in Pyongyang have consisted of 90 percent rice and 10 percent corn and in the Sadong-district and in surrounding areas, rice and corn have been mixed fifty-fifty percent.”
