In North Korea, the number of “gangs of robbers” extorting cash and goods from citizens has been on the rise, triggering a serious social problem.
An inside source from North Pyongan Province said in a phone conversation with the Daily NK on the 1st, “A freight car belonging to a foreign currency earning business which was heading for Shinuiju via the road connecting Moondeuk and Bakkcheun in the vicinity of Anjoo in South Pyongan Province was attacked by a group of robbers. Eight teenagers in their late teens and early 20s beat the driver and the owner of the vehicle and ran off with six car batteries, Chinese Yuan and U.S. dollars.”
The source added, “The vehicle was attacked while returning to Shinuiju after selling shoes made in China and vinyl for farming in Pyongsung. The robbers, immediately after stopping the car, brutally assaulted the driver and others in the car so that they would not recognize the robbers’ faces then seized money and the goods.”
He said, “Recently, the number of professional gangs of robbers preying on merchants who carry around a lot of cash and expensive goods has increased. There are merchants who, in the worst cases, even lose their lives.”
According to the source, these “groups of robbers” usually target vehicles traveling on remote country or mountain roads. Regardless of the time of day, they attack merchants who possess cash or luxury goods and turn the vehicles inside out.”
The source noted, “When the robbers began to grow drastically in number, the merchants started carrying knives with them in order to protect themselves and began moving during the day. Yet, people are still being robbed.”
He added, “In particular, when the robbers take cash and goods from the home of a merchant, they do not hesitate to commit murder. In North Korea, those who prosper in business tend to store their money and goods in their homes.”
At the end of June, an incident occurred where a man took the life of his friend and her wife. They were people who had succeeded in business in a village in Jungjoo, North Pyongan Province. He bludgeoned them with a hammer in order to get his hands on their money.
Mr. Kim, the individual who committed the murder, was apparently aware of the success of his friend, so one day he took them to a hill and killed them, then ran to their home and pillaged it. But he was caught by the officers of the People’s Safety Agency without actually discovering any of the money.
The source added, “The citizens were shocked that someone would brutally take the lives of his friends because of money. However, this can be attributed to poverty. In the 70s and 80s, no one committed murder for money or even took part in theft.”
He went on, “During the food shortage of the ’90s, people’s mentality changed. They became increasingly willing to do anything for money. With each day, society seems to be deteriorating.”
