Security agents in Kaesong recently arrested several boys who secretly entered the ruins of the Inter-Korean Liaison Office to collect scrap metal.
A source in Kaesong told Daily NK on Monday that the six boys were trying to fulfill the scrap metal quota imposed on them by their school.
He added that Kaesong was “in an uproar” over the arrests.
In early January, North Korea issued scrap metal collection quotas that adults and children alike must fulfill this year, as it has in previous years.
Many North Koreans consider the quotas demanded by the government as excessive.
People sometimes pay money in lieu of the metal, but the six boys recently arrested in Kaesong came from poor families without money to spare.
BOYS MOUNT A “GUERILLA OPERATION” TO OBTAIN SCRAP METAL
According to the source, the boys snuck into the ruins of the Inter-Korean Liaison Office and were carrying out scrap metal when they were busted by security officials patrolling the ruins of the Inter-Korean Liaison Office in shifts.
“To avoid the patrols, the boys snuck into the place at night like guerillas and were carrying out scrap metal one backpack at a time when security personnel caught them and beat them,” he said.
Ultimately, the six boys were turned over to the Kaesong branch of the Ministry of State Security.
Prosecutors are now involved in the case, and are calling in the boys’ parents, their homeroom teachers and even their school headmasters for questioning.
Meanwhile, Kaesong’s party committee is calling on schools to better administer their students, saying children should not be stealing state property to meet the quotas.
However, many Kaesong residents are reportedly critical of how the authorities have been handling the case.
Some people are pointing out that the kids were stealing the scrap metal because they could no longer take the government asking them to contribute scrap metal they didn’t have. People are also complaining about how the authorities are treating the boys as if they were suspected of espionage.
Apart from this recent incident, there has been a slew of incidents involving metal collection in Kaesong, according to the source.
Recently, a metal fence and propaganda sign at a collective farm’s management committee disappeared. In another incident, scrap metal submitted to the authorities to fulfill the quotas one day was stolen the same night and then offered again to the authorities.
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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