North Korea’s Samjiyon County construction project has caused a major mobilization of manpower and resources across the country, and a disproportionate burden has been placed on the shoulders of Samjiyon locals.
In a bid to acknowledge their difficulties, the authorities have distributed special rations to residents in the area as a small consolation, a source in Ryanggang Province has reported.
“Every household in Samjiyon Country received one bottle of alcohol, cooking oil (200 g per person per household), and a 500 g bag of various snacks. Nobody expected to receive anything, so it was a welcome surprise,” she said, adding that “recipients were told that the Lunar New Year’s distribution was in thanks for their assiduous support for the Samjiyon construction project.”
A separate source in Ryanggang Province who confirmed the holiday provision said that heightened security measures related to the upcoming Supreme People’s Assembly elections in March made the holiday feel “less festive” than usual. However, he noted that “people’s faces were glowing when they found out about the holiday rations from the local people’s unit (inminban) leaders.”
“Everyone knows that it’s an attempt to boost morale ahead of the resumption of construction, but it was still a welcome development, especially for those living hand to mouth,” he said.
“It’s been years since any of us in Samiyon have seen anything in the way of holiday distributions.”
