As construction efforts in Pyongyang’s Songsin-Songhwa, Hwasong, and Sopho areas continue, the authorities in South Pyongan Province are forcing people to send supplies to the construction sites, Daily NK has learned.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a reporting partner in South Pyongan Province told Daily NK last Thursday that the provincial authorities recently issued an order calling on all neighborhood watch units to contribute supplies to Pyongyang’s apartment construction projects.
The order instructed each person to supply 500 grams of beans, 500 grams of roasted corn, three blankets and two pairs of gloves, with all the supplies to be sent to the construction site in Pyongyang’s Sopho area.
The authorities also instructed that people in the province cough up KPW 50,000 per person under the pretext of supporting a voluntary “mass movement” to pull together supplies for national projects. In reality, however, people are forced to pay the money because those who refuse face pressure from the head of their neighborhood watch unitNeighborhood watch units (inminban, people's units) are Nort... More or have to suffer from social disadvantages, according to the reporting partner.
He also told Daily NK that KPW 50,000 is a considerable sum for many people given that it is enough to buy nine kilograms of rice in local markets.
North Korean state-run media has been encouraging people to provide active support for national construction projects, running propaganda articles about different agencies or regions sending supplies to construction sites.
Rodong Sinmun, for example, ran an article on Mar. 19 praising the managers and staff of Potonggang Seafood Shop, which sent supplies to the second-stage construction site in Hwasong. The article said workers from the shop visit the construction site every Friday to supply meals for up to 1,000 people.
However, many North Koreans are concerned about the coercive ways used by regime to extract money from them.
“Right before mass farm mobilizations began some time ago, everyone had to contribute KPW 3,000 a person under the pretext that the money is needed for farms. And last winter, they told people to send enough money to buy 30 briquettes to help disabled veterans,” the reporting partner said. “They make people pay for all sorts of supplies, so there’s nothing to live on.”
According to Cho Chunghee, who directs Good Farmers’ research institute, “North Korean authorities used to make people living near construction sites provide all the supplies and manpower required, even construction tools and food. A great deal of the Kim Jong Un era’s legacy projects has concentrated on construction, which has naturally led to a rise in popular discontent toward the significant burdens imposed by the regime.”
Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of reporting partners who live inside North Korea and China. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
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