In some areas, the mourning period for Kim Jong Il has been extended through to the end of March on the orders of the security forces, meaning there is little of the informal trading upon which many of the poorest rely. Given that the number of illegal traders far exceeds that of the legal variety, it is clear that this is a serious issue. <\/p>\n
Interviewees commented that the authorities have been paying little heed to public discomfort in their efforts to create an atmosphere of sorrow at the death of Kim Jong Il and loyalty to new leader Kim Jong Eun. <\/p>\n
Those who cannot afford to pay the daily \u2018stall tax\u2019 levied on persons wishing to trade in the formal market are ordinarily forced to do business from the roadside, usually in areas adjoining formal market locations. Faced with particularly harsh repression of their activities at this time, such people have reportedly been heard to wonder, \u201cAre they trying to kill us or something?\u201d <\/p>\n
Nationwide trade restrictions were apparently eased after Kim Jong Il\u2019s birthday in mid February, but in some provincial areas this street trade has not been permitted to re-emerge. <\/p>\n
One 50-something male trade worker from the North Korean capital told Daily NK, \u201cThey have designated the period to the end of March for mourning, so outside of the official markets all grasshopper marketplaces and alley markets are still totally shut down. Even in Pyongyang many people get by on trade, so there is a lot of discontent that it is being controlled.\u201d<\/p>\n
A 30-something female trader from distant Hyesan noted also, \u201cThey gave the order not to trade because they said if we traded during the mourning period it would look disorderly. They told us to go with heavy heart and visit Kim Il Sung, but that\u2019s only really enough for one or two days. It\u2019s inevitable that security agents will control us, but if you can\u2019t eat and so you collapse, you can\u2019t mourn either, right? When it comes down to it, it\u2019s the same as ordering you to die of starvation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The young woman continued, \u201cThey assume that if you trade when you\u2019re meant to be cherishing the memory of the General, you are not well prepared ideologically. Cadres just say, \u2018The General has passed away; why do you want to trade? Being distracted is the problem.\u2019 But speaking frankly, when you are trying to live, is it possible to spend time being sad?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another woman, a 50-something wholesaler from easterly Hamheung, conceded, \u201cNew leader comrade Kim Jong Eun has to run the country, so he can\u2019t really avoid tightening society\u2019s screws.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, she added, \u201cIt\u2019s hard for wholesalers to get transit permits, and so it\u2019s pretty much impossible for them to trade with people in other areas. We cannot supply the products for others to sell, so traders are in trouble across the board.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In some areas, the mourning period for Kim Jong Il has been extended through to the end of March on the orders of the security forces, meaning there is little of the informal trading upon which many of the poorest rely. Given that the number of illegal traders far exceeds that of the legal variety, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":169,"featured_media":18737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[645],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy"],"yoast_head":"\n