Unification Media Group (UMG): With 2017 drawing to a close, Kim Jong Un has made a spate of public appearances showing his apparent concern for the people’s economic welfare. In parallel with these photo-op visits to production sites, the state media has been touting the leadership’s economic achievements. But in reality, the regime often forcibly mobilizes the population to access free labor, and prisoners in particular are significant contributors to the regime’s “loyalty fund” generating capacity. For more details, we turn to reporter Seol Song Ah.
Seol Song Ah (Seol): It has been an eventful year. After a series of missile tests, the Kim regime declared that it has successfully developed nuclear weapons. Since a period of hardship during the spring ended, the people of North Korea have been struggling with food insecurity and the daily challenges of eking out a living. The state media, seemingly oblivious, has been printing dozens of articles showing Kim Jong Un conducting on-the-spot-guidance at factories to show his apparent concern for the people’s welfare.
In the month of November, Kim Jong Un visited a bicycle factory in South Pyongan Province and a catfish farm in Sunchon City. On December 6, he visited the Samjiyon Potato Flake Factory and was quoted saying, “This factory gives tteok to the people.” [Tteok, a glutinous rice cake, is a symbol of wealth and luxury]. Some residents have noted that the very existence of the factory is likely to result in higher taxes over the next few years.
UMG: When Kim Jong Un visited the catfish farm in Sunchon City, some of the fish were alive and some were frozen. Why was this?
Seol: I was surprised to see this. Looking at the pictures in the November 28 issue of the Rodong Sinmun on pages one and two, there were some catfish as big as a person’s forearm swimming in the indoor tanks, and there were also tall stacks of frozen catfish.
But catfish normally grow to around 10-20 centimeters in the first year, and then to 20-40 centimeters in the second year. With good care, it’s possible to get them to 30 centimeters within a year. The Rodong Sinmun noted that “[t]he facility has been in operation with catfish since October.” How would it be possible for catfish to grow so large in such a short time? The article attempts to show Kim Jong Un’s prowess, but by exaggeration to unrealistic proportions, it’s easy to see that the propaganda must be false. Some residents have ridiculed the article.
UMG: If they weren’t grown on site, where do you think they were able to get all of the fish for the photo-op?
Seol: A South Pyongan Province source told Daily NK that local party officials were informed one year in advance that Kim Jong Un would be visiting the catfish farm. So the provincial party leadership instructed fish farmers to go and catch catfish in the local lakes and rivers so the factory would be full when the leader came to inspect the factory. “It isn’t clear whether the frozen catfish were sourced locally or imported, but it is difficult to imagine that so many could be acquired locally,” the source added.
Construction began on this particular catfish farm five years ago. The Women’s Socialist Union was obliged to contribute mandatory labor to construct the building over the course of this time.
UMG: So that means that local housewives were forcibly mobilized for five years. Were they properly compensated for their time and effort?
Seol: As is often the case in North Korea, there was no compensation. Groundbreaking occurred in October of 2012. The facility is located about 8 kilometers from the city center, so women without a bicycle had to walk for about an hour both ways. They were ordered to dig down into the ground to construct the building’s foundations in freezing conditions in swampy farmland filled with icy water.
Those women who were unable to contribute labor on any given day were forced to pay 5,000 KPW. Well-off families were able to pay a lump sum upfront to skip the mobilization. But this was not possible for most women. They worked on the construction site, and then went to earn a living for themselves in the market during the evenings.
The very selection of the site for the catfish farm was controversial from the beginning. The area was quite productive as a rice farm, which prompted some residents to say, “Rice farming should take priority, why are we building this catfish farm? We locals won’t even get a single fish. Our efforts will be praised as an accomplishment of the leader, and the fish will disappear.”
UMG: So who do you think the authorities will give the catfish to?
Seol: According to the source, these fish farms will send their produce to the airports located in Sunchon City. There are two airports nearby: the Pyong-ri Airport and the Chopyong Airport. These are air force bases built for the defense of Pyongyang. The airfields house North Korea’s most elite air force squadrons. It is thus apparent that the purpose of the catfish farm is to keep these essential battalions well supplied to reinforce the regime’s security needs. Sunchon is located along the Taedong River. On the banks of this river sits another fish farm enterprise that produces fish for central party cadres.
UMG: The amount of money needed to build the catfish farm would be significant. How was the capital raised?
Seol: It takes thousands of US dollars to build a private home in North Korea, so building a project that will be visited by the country’s top leadership costs much more. I was surprised to learn that the capital for the construction was sourced from a disciplinary labor facility.
According to the source, the Sunchon Disciplinary Labor Center has 150 male inmates and 100 female inmates. 60% of the convicts have been charged with manufacturing and distributing illicit drugs. Most of them are donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More [North Korea’s nouveau riche]. The minimum punishment for such a crime is 5 years in the comparatively more grueling Kyohwaso internment facilities, but the donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More pay bribes and get sent to the labor centers instead. The authorities accept the money and record that the prisoners are ill so that they can be sent to the labor centers.
The source explained that Sunchon City government officials are continually doing this: catching and releasing drug dealers to raise money.
UMG: How is it possible that the authorities can be so corrupt without getting punished?
Seol: In North Korea, loyalty funds [the regime’s way of funneling money from the residents] and illicit practices are intimately related. The chief of the Sunchon City Ministry of People’s Security (North Korea’s police agency) oversees the disciplinary labor facility and is thus able to collect a large amount of bribes. However, if he’s too brazen about it, he can be kicked out of the party.
That is why it’s important for him to be meticulous. The source explained, “The chief of the disciplinary labor center can earn as much as $1,000 a day in bribes, but he can’t keep all of it for himself. In order to keep his spot at the table, he gave the head of the Sunchon City Party Committee the funds to build the catfish farm last year.”
“Since the factory was visited by Kim Jong Un, the Municipal Party Committee Head and the Head of the labor center will no doubt be rewarded for its construction. These visits by the ruler make good propaganda material, but they need to be funded and that’s where the prisoners come in handy,” the source added.
New livestock farms, chicken farms, and fish farms have recently been built in Sunchon. The labor used to construct the facilities often comes from inmates, as does the money used to fund the construction. According to state media, the meat, eggs, and fish produced are symbols of Kim Jong Un’s love for the people, but the truth is that these end products are used for gift politics to protect the regime’s hold on power and are sold at the markets to earn money.
