[“Good Friends” aims to help the North Korean people from
a humanistic point of view and publishes “North Korea
Today” describing the way the North Korean people live as accurately as
possible. We at Good Friends also hope to be a bridge between the North Korean
people and the world.]
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North Korea Emphasizes the Importance of
a Favorable Relationship with China
Atmosphere along National Border Areas
Still Brutal
Bigger Companies Have More Serious Food
Shortage
As Living Conditions Worsen, Crime Rates
Increase
Residents of Songpyong District in
Cheongjin Survive on 1Kg of Corn per Week
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North Korea Emphasizes the Importance of a Favorable
Relationship with China
The subtle tension between North Korea and
China appears to have subsided. One of the Central Party officials stated, “Some
of the government officials believe that China rarely supports North Korea
properly when help is needed. However, North Korea will not gain anything by
creating friction with China. For instance, the capture of a Chinese fishing
boat by North Korea or the launch of Kwangmyongsong-3 Satellite must have made
China uneasy. Now we postponed the second satellite launch in an effort to
preserve North Korea-China relations. It is true that there has been some
tension between the two countries, but it is not as bad as it appears on the
surface. Even though the progress of Wihwado and Hwanggumpyung development
projects has been very slow, it does not mean that the relationship between
North Korea and China is crumbling. It is just a rumor created by people who
want to play North Korea against China. Our government announced, “It is
the enemies who try to break North Korea’s close ties with China by spreading
false information.” Some officials in the Party warn against China’s influence if we get heavily dependent on
it. And yet, the Party is emphasizing that we should refrain from any words and
actions that might have a negative impact on the relationship between the two
countries. Considering the severe drought and food shortage in the country, the
government’s urging people to take
precautions is the correct course of action.” The North Korean government has
issued repeated orders to all departments, businesses, and other units to
refrain from any conduct that might harm the NK-China relations.
Atmosphere along National Border
Areas Still Brutal
The
tightened security along the national border between North Korea and China has
been extremely harsh since the end of last year. In fact, the Chinese
government has issued repeated orders to pre-empt North Korean defectors at
border areas such as Jilin and Liaoning Provinces. An official of Hyesan City, Ryangang
Province, described the situation saying, “According to the news from Changbai
area, the Chinese government seems to have a strong will to root out North
Korean defectors. The Chinese police, border patrols, rangers, and even small
police stations in rural areas, have intensified their investigations. Chinese
national security agents and public prosecutors are investigating and arresting
Chinese citizens or any officials who might have helped North Koreans cross the
border or assisted foreign countries and organizations in the border crossings.
The Chinese Central Party has persistently issued orders to inspect foreigners
and monitor their behavior.”
An official at the North Korean Central Party stated, “Many
Korean-Chinese live in cities in Jilin and Liaoning Provinces that are close to
border areas, so the Chinese government is especially concerned with these
areas. The Chinese government’s diligent patrolling its border is good for our
government, but it also hurts our pride. Not long ago, a Chinese official told
me, ‘It is very likely that the food shortage will get worse in the future. We
cannot help worrying about problems with North Korean defectors.’ I maintained
my manner, but I felt quite humiliated by his condescending attitude towards
our country.” He added that the Chinese government’s tightened border control
seems to be a long-term policy. It has almost finished installing barbed wires
along the national border areas, and it continues operating intense investigations
on brokers and assistants for North Korean defectors in China.
Bigger Companies Have More
Serious Food Shortage
Bigger factories seem to be suffering from
even more serious food shortage. To date, big factories in Hangheung,
Cheongjin, and Wonsan have occasionally distributed food to their employees by
selling their pig iron or machinery. The premium company of Kimchaek Steel Mill
in Cheongjin used to buy corn by selling some of their products. This year,
even that became difficult because they lost many overseas sales channels. One
official of the Central Party explained the big companies’ slow sales as the results of the last year’s investigation on the Ministry of Trade. “Since the investigation on the Ministry of Trade, the newly appointed
officials have not yet settled properly into their positions. Foreign trade was
widely shaken by the replacement of officials. Foreign trade takes up a large
portion of business in big factories, and as the trade officers could not do
their job properly, the domestic production and the workers’ livelihood were deeply
damaged. Even in Pyongyang Textile Factory and the three major steel mills, the
food rations for the employees are almost stopped, let alone small factories
across the nation.
The workers are surviving on
anything they can come by, such as rice wine draff, tofu-dreg, corn husk, or
corncob powder, barely managing day by day. Faced with the miserable reports
coming from all parts of the country, a Central Party official commented, “The investigation on the
Ministry of Trade started in July last year. Back then our foreign trade was at
the historic peak, and we all thought we were making a real progress if we
worked just a bit harder. We had a blue print of business cooperation with
China. Nonetheless, there is no economic breakthrough this year, the foreign
trade isn’t going well, and the food
crisis is getting worse. I think that’s why
people started to pick up on the investigation of the Ministry of Trade again.
I understand that replacing people was a necessary step to take before the new
leadership was formed. However, as the old saying goes, even a decayed tooth is
worth keeping to protect the gum from the cold. We should have kept the old
officials and used them as much as we could. It is a real shame. I think no one
could foresee the back blast of the investigation”.
As Living Conditions Worsen, Crime Rates
Increase
The gap between the rich and the poor in
North Korea is getting wider. A few rich people get richer, and the poor
continues falling into a worsened situation. The families of employees of
Kimchaeck Steel Mill, who live in Lanam District of Cheongjin, North Hamggyong
Province, are selling their furniture because of their difficult economic
situation. The items are bought by merchants and then sold at the Chinese
border areas. Due to their hardship, various crimes occur even in the broad
daylight. A policeman from Cheongjin City said that three cases of bicycle
theft occurred on the 7th in the vicinity of Sunam Market. The occurrence of
three bicycle thefts in just one day is not common. In another case, a band of
three burglars robbed a food vendor, beating him up at Subukdong in Pohang
District. Kkotjebis (homeless youngsters) were the initial suspects in the
attack, but the real criminals were jobless young men who were caught after two
days of the police investigation.
At the end of June, a band
of five burglars broke into a government store, threatening three guards with
weapons, and stole eight video recorders and three bicycles. The guards were
severely injured, beaten by the burglars with a coal shovel in the kitchen. The
store had not had much to display on the shelves, and to make matters worse the
robbery happened. Now the employees of the store worry about the reimbursement
for the lost items. One policeman from Cheongjin said, “In fact, they were
lucky that the incident ended at that level. Because of the hardship of life, a
lot of horrible crimes like murder happen these days. Such crimes are
increasing due to difficult living conditions.”
Residents
of Songpyong District in Cheongjin Survive on 1Kg of Corn per Week
Residents of Sonpyong District in
Cheongjin City, North Hamgyong Province, are running the “Earn 1Kg of corn a
day” campaign. One kilogram of corn costs around 2,000 – 2,500 NK won.
Geum-young (alias), who runs a second-handed clothes business in Soonam
District, said it is hard to make 2,000 won a day. In the past, it was not hard
to earn 1Kg worth of rice a day, but rice, currently selling for more than
4,000 won per kilo, is impossible to even dream about eating these days.
Because she cannot earn 1Kg of corn a day, her family eats wild-grass porridge
for breakfast, skips lunch, and eats some corn noodle for dinner. The families
who cannot even afford this eat only two meals a day consisting of watered-down
grass porridge mixed with corn powder and wild plant. An official from the
People’s Committee in Songpyong District said, “You can think that one third of
our district residents are barely getting on with their lives by eating wild
plant porridge. Last year, a family of four consumed one kilogram of corn for
three days. Now, we have to use food more sparingly than that. Many are
suffering from malnutrition, which easily leads them to diseases and death.
Still, our Province (North Hamgyong Province) is better than others. I heard
that southern provinces (for example, Hwanghae, South Pyongan, and Gangwon
Provinces) are worse off than us so that they are barely surviving day by day”.
He sighed, adding that Songpyong
residents’ living conditions are better than that of those in the South.
