[imText1]Yanji, China — “The Mupo Revolutionary Historical Place,” which claimed that the ‘Kim Il Sung Juche Ideology’ was conceived while Kim Jong Il was fishing on the spot in 1972, was completely destroyed in a forest fire which took place on the 3rd.
An inside North Korean source said in a phone conversation with the Daily NK on the 27th, “’The Mupo Revolutionary Historical Place’ was completely destroyed in a forest fire around 1p.m. on the 3rd. The blaze took place when the people who had been preparing for farming near the Historical Place lit fire to dry potato stems that were left behind from last year.”
”The Mupo Historical Place” is located in Mubong-gu in Samjiyeon County in Yangkang Province and Kim Il Sung had apparently enjoyed fishing trout there. The “Mupo Fishing Place,” where Kim Jong Il conceived the idea of the “Kim Il Sung Juche Ideology” in 1972, and the ‘Mupo Billet,” where Kim Il Sung stayed during his guerilla activities, can be found.
According to the source, only a few people, including the guards of the Historical Place, are residing on site and armed agents of the People’s Safety Agency are known to be on 24-hour lookouts in the surrounding area.
The source explained, however, “When the forest fire took place, a countless number of people were mobilized from the Samjiyeon town and Mubong Worker-District to extinguish the fire, but around 9pm, rain started coming down, which put out the fire.”
He continued, “Due to the blaze, the Yangkang Provincial Party held an Emergency Measure Meeting on the 5th and all factory enterprises and workers within the province were mobilized and ordered to clean up the site and carry out recovery projects, such as planting trees. From the 8th, people have been pulled from the Samjiyeon Country and Hyesan factories and enterprises to be sent to the Mupo Historical Place.”
He also revealed, “South Korean aid rice, which had been preserved as army rations, along with corn have been provided to the mobilized personnel.”
Officials of the Party were dismissed due to South Korean movies
The source also said, “On March 27th, there was an ‘Ideological Criticism Meeting” among the domestic party leaders in Samjiyeon County. At this meeting, the Propagandistic Department Chair, the Propagandistic Department Research Team Vice-Director, and the Propagandistic and Civilian Defense Department Advisors of the county party were dismissed.”
The origin of the incident has been attributed to the beating of a student by the son of the Propagandistic Department Research Team’s Vice-Director and his friends. The parents of the harmed student visited the County Party and demanded an apology and compensation, but they retorted, “Who are you to visit us at your whim? This incident occurred because your son is not smart enough.”
The outraged parent immediately visited an official of the central Party who had visited Samjiyeon and reported that, “The children of cadres as well as the son of the research team’s Vice-Director viewed several tens of copies of South Korean CDs after gathering his fellow classmates.”
The parent mentioned above also simultaneously showed their intention to report to the Anti-Socialist Inspection Group stationed in Yangang Province to prevent the Party official covering up the incident. As a result, the Party official could execute disciplinary action against the related parties without minimizing the incident.
Further, with the incident to the central Party, the Central Prosecutor Office and the Anti-Socialist Inspection Unit instigated an in-depth investigation of Samjiyeon and verified the evidence that a significant number of cadres are possessing South Korean movie CDs or have viewed them. Among these who had been dismissed, children of five county party cadres were charged with circulating Korean CDs among their fellow classmates and organizing group viewings.
The source said, “The Propagandistic Department cadres who have to relay the voice of the Party are the ones to have seen South Korean movies first. With the dismissal of the Propagandistic Department Director and the Research Team’s Vice-Director as well as the Propagandistic Department managers, the county party Propagandistic Department has been shaken-up.”
The source relayed, “The dismissed party cadres were all kicked out of the party and were driven to the Potae Collective Farm and the Rimyungsu Mountain. Due to the charges of circulating South Korean movies and CDs, the daughter of the Propagandistic Department Chair, who was a manager to the Samjiyeon Students’ and Children’s Palace, and of the new Assistant-Chief and a clerk of the Samjiyeon Billet were sentenced to the “Labor Training Corps” after turning 17.”
