Leading up to the 7th Workers’ Party Congress,which commences today in Pyongyang, the the leadership has pulled out all the stops to promote an image of grandeur in the showcase capital. But behind the scenes, poor planning and management have led the authorities to shift responsibility to
distribute two weeks’ worth of food rations to the people onto state-run enterprises.
Amid stringent
sanctions levied on North Korea, excessive attempts by the leadership to push
construction projects to tout as achievements ahead of the Party Congress once again puts the onus on the people to provide what it cannot.
“They [the authorities] don’t give you anything in the way of
assistance; their method of problem solving is to bark orders. They don’t think past that.” a source in North
Hamgyong Province reported to Daily NK on May 4.
Additional sources in the same province and
South Hamgyong Province corroborated this news.
Recent reports have stated that even the one-week
allotment of rations once distributed during North Korea’s longest holidays–
the respective birthdays of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il–have long since
ceased. Thus, this unprecedented distribution is widely seen as an indicator of the gravity Kim Jong Un hopes to attach to this massive convention.
This, of course, is much to the
consternation of a beleaguered populace. “How are you going to give away what
you’ve got unless you’re making up for it somewhere else?” one cadre said to our
source, scoffing. “Why would the government issue this type of order knowing
full well how hard people have it?”
But the stakes are high, and those obliged
to deliver have no choice but to scramble to find a solution. Following the
two-week distribution period, factory managers who fail to provide the
additional rations will face termination from their positions–or worse.
Naturally, this pressure has led to bouts of creativity as people endeavor to
circumvent the system.
The base ration requirement varies
depending on workplace. Some factories are tasked with providing only enough food for the workers [in this case, 450g of rice per person], where others must also
furnish enough to cover workers’ families.
The ordinance has likewise called on every
social organization in North Korea–from the Korean Democratic Women’s Union to Kim
Il Sung’s Socialist Youth League–to offer rations or the equivalent in rations
for redistribution to the masses.
“So, yet again,” lamented the source, “even
if the distribution of food during the 7th Party Congress is carried out
successfully, it will be because of the pain and suffering of those languishing
in the bottom rungs of our social structure.”
He added that an authoritarian grip and
systemic fear tactics may prove effective to compel people to carry out tasks for “a successful event,” but winning them over with merely the distribution of a fortnight’s worth of
food, especially considering the underlying burdens involved, will not be so easy.
