Tag: smuggling
North Koreans buy river water from pullcarts as pipes freeze solid
Cases of water pipes freezing or exploding have occurred throughout the northern regions of North Korea amid a protracted cold spell. Locals are taking...
China cracks down on North Korean cigarette smuggling, but demand keeps...
Chinese smugglers caught trafficking North Korean cigarettes face steep penalties and prison time as Beijing intensifies enforcement against illicit tobacco trade, but Pyongyang's cigarette...
North Korean remittance brokers disguise themselves as traveling salespeople to evade...
Operators in border regions carry sweets and underwear to mask their use of Chinese mobile phones for money transfers, as state security intensifies surveillance...
Chanel products popular among N. Korea’s wealthy
Chanel cosmetics and perfumes are becoming the latest status symbol among North Korea’s elite, as wealthy people in cities like Hoeryong and Chongjin increasingly...
Elderly N. Koreans long for Kim Jong Il era as markets...
Amid persistent economic hardship, it is becoming more common for elderly North Koreans to long for the days of Kim Jong Il, as an...
North Korea’s wealthy pay premium for imported winter coats as status...
Puffer coats from foreign brands imported by state-authorized smugglers have become very popular with affluent North Korean customers at marketplaces in Hyesan, Ryanggang province,...
North Korea dramatically increases fisheries law penalties to combat illegal exports
North Korea bolstered punishment provisions in its fisheries law to emphasize "criminal accountability" in amendments made in May, with those caught illegally exporting fishery...
Hyesan crackdown sends currency traders to labor camps as regime tightens...
North Korean police in the city of Hyesan, Ryanggang province, have recently orchestrated a clampdown on money changers who trade foreign currency on the...
North Korea includes families of ‘war heroes’ in special amnesty for...
North Korea's special amnesty marking the 80th anniversary of the ruling party's founding this year included families of so-called "war heroes" deployed to fight...
Smuggling crackdown leaves hungry border guards stealing from farms instead of...
Soldiers of the 25th Brigade of North Korea's border guard based in Ryanggang province have gone on a rampage of crop theft this harvest...
