A clash along the North Korean border in Jagang province left both smugglers and soldiers injured after border guards attempted to crack down on a state-sanctioned smuggling operation they weren’t informed about.<\/p>\n
“Last month, soldiers from the 29th Brigade tried to stop smugglers who were actually conducting state-approved smuggling along the Jagang province border,” a Daily NK source in the province reported. “The incident happened because the soldiers weren’t notified about the operation due to a command system failure.”<\/p>\n
According to the source, the smugglers were waiting to receive pharmaceuticals and electronic devices, exchanging flash signals with their Chinese counterparts across the Yalu River around 11 p.m. when two soldiers from the 29th Brigade on stakeout spotted them.<\/p>\n
Though the smugglers were conducting pre-approved “state smuggling,” the uninformed soldiers mistook them for illegal operators and fired warning shots. Startled, the smugglers fled along the riverbank while the soldiers pursued them after reporting the situation to their company.<\/p>\n
As one smuggler was about to be caught, he panicked, threw a rock at the soldiers and shouted, “I’m engaged in state smuggling. Weren’t you informed?” The rock struck one soldier, who fell. His comrade responded by firing live ammunition, hitting the smuggler in the leg.<\/p>\n
Additional soldiers who arrived after receiving the report managed to defuse the situation. However, the smuggling operation failed after Chinese traders, witnessing the chaos from across the river, disappeared.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of State Security reportedly reprimanded the 29th Brigade for interfering with an approved operation and embarrassing North Korea in front of China by causing an unnecessary confrontation.<\/p>\n
“We learned that 12 hours before the incident, the province’s trade bureau and trade management bureau had requested cooperation from the 29th Brigade headquarters for this operation, but due to a command system mixup, guard post personnel were never informed,” the source explained.<\/p>\n
Following the incident, the 29th Brigade “intensified security by closing the 1-kilometer section of the Yalu River border where the clash occurred and adding more guard posts,” the source said. “The two soldiers at the scene were demoted as punishment.”<\/p>\n
Amid ongoing international sanctions, North Korea imports restricted items through state-sanctioned smuggling separate from its formal customs trade. This officially approved illicit trade is called “state smuggling.”<\/p>\n
The incident likely won’t cause diplomatic issues as state smuggling regularly occurs secretly along the North Korea-China border. However, it remains unclear whether China will use this incident to strengthen restrictions on cross-border smuggling.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, controversy over responsibility continues within the 29th Brigade. The source reported that soldiers have expressed frustration with their commanders, complaining that “the brigade messed up, but only lower-ranking soldiers were punished,” that “only the bottom ranks took the blame despite command failing to properly inform them,” and that “they wouldn’t know whose orders to trust if this happens again.”<\/p>\n