Frequent visits to Samjiyon County by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to check on the area’s modernization projects have led the local People’s Committee to establish a system to manage the safety and “cleanliness” of the railway stretching from Hyesan to Samjiyon.
Kim has visited Samjiyon County at least three times in the latter half of this year, along with a visit to the nearby Mt. Paektu. In August, he rode the Hyesan-Samjiyon railway that was completed in August, and used an aircraft to travel to the area on the final day of the Pyongyang summit to visit Mt. Paektu along with President Moon Jae In and his entourage.
“In October, the [local People’s] Committee gave each factory-enterprise and even university and driver’s training organizations an area to manage along the road and railway stretching from Hyesan to Samjiyon,” said a Ryanggang Province-based source on October 26.
The organizations must visit the area they manage at least once a week and ensure it remains safe and clean. If any issues are discovered, they must be addressed as soon as possible. The source also noted that the local municipal and county People’s Committee Mobilization Departments will likely conduct monitoring activities in the area.
“The continued on-the-spot visits by the General [Kim Jong Un] and the recent visit by the South Korean president during the summit has local officials feeling the need to make all preparations necessary in case another unannounced visit is made by high-level officials,” an additional source in Ryanggang Province reported.
The railway between Hyesan and Samjiyon is 64 kilometers long and is in a very mountainous area. The area of the railway that has been newly constructed connects deeply-forested, remote areas, meaning that managing these areas is not an easy task. The temperature in the Samjiyon area also falls 30 degrees below zero [Celsius] in the winter.
Parts of the railway also pass by important sites including the Samjiyon Grand Monument and other historical sites that honor the revolutionary activities of the Kim family. This means that local organizations may have to manage the cleanliness of these sites as well.
“There are systems in place for managing the road and railway exclusively used by the General, but there is no precedent for mobilizing university students for this kind of thing,” the initial source said, adding that “the students are confused as to why they are being asked to do this.”
Most of the workers in the factories and enterprises have been mobilized for construction projects over the years. The lack of labor resources may explain why the university students have been ordered to manage the train tracks, the source said.
