In order to take care of loyal inner
circle, Kim Jong Un is building luxurious apartments and private housing in
Pyongyang. However, this is causing serious resentment from those who do not
stand to benefit from the exclusive provisions.
In a telephone conversation with the Daily
NK on December 1st, an inside source from Pyongyang said, “Lately, people have
been using the word ‘economic stratification’ more frequently. This frustration
and discontent stems mainly from the high-cost construction projects occurring
around Mirae (future) Scientists’ Street. The brunt of this criticism is that the regime
has stopped the public food distribution system, yet continues to cater to the
rich and politically connected class.”
Daily NK crosschecked this information with
an additional source in the capital.
“Residents who live on the outskirts and
suburbs of central Pyongyang do not receive electricity in a reliable manner.
They are forced to exist in pitch black darkness. Some people are saying things
like, ‘The cadres exist in a separate world from us,'” he said, adding that one residents “cursed the regime while
lamenting his hard fate.”
“Cadres who are in the Central Party or
work in foreign currency-earning companies show off their wealth by blowing
through US $1000 in a single meal. An entire family of ordinary people could
survive off that amount for a whole year. That’s why people feel animosity
towards high-level cadres.”
According to our source, Pyongyang is
designated as a ‘Special Supply Region’ and was therefore the first to receive
public distribution. It also means that Pyongyang plays host to spas, health
clubs, cafes, and fancy restaurants. The living standard in Pyongyang has
improved markedly over the years.
However, compared to the skyrocketing
standards of central Pyongyang, North Korean authorities have neglected and
cast aside the needs of residents on the outskirts of town. Development of
these areas has slowed as a consequence. New buildings shoot up in the city
center all the time, but according to residents in the outer regions, “nothing
much has changed in over a decade.”
“The monthly salary for a worker in
Pyongyang’s textile factory is anywhere from KPW 300,000(about US $36.00) to
KPW 1,000,000(about $121.00). At companies in fringe areas, the going rate is
between KPW 3,000 (US 0.36) and KPW 4,000(us 0.48). In this sort of situation,
the residents are forced to go to the markets and sell in order to make a
living,” he explained.
By the source’s estimation, high-level
cadres such those in the Korean Workers’ Party and Ministry of People’s Armed
Forces account for 10% of the population but hold most of the country’s wealth.
Below them are the donjuLiterally "masters of money," donju refers to people who hav... More (masters of money, or new moneyed class), who occupy
about 20-40%. The remaining 50% is made up of “normal folks, who really do
struggle to get by and provide for their family.”
“A while ago, it was said that even though
we were subsisting on corn meal soup and scraping to get by, those in Pyongyang
weren’t much better off. But things have changed. Now there are residents who
say they’d prefer to farm in the countryside rather than watch the cadres show
off their extravagant wealth,” the source concluded.
*The content of this article was broadcast to the North Korean people via Unification Media Group.
