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North Korea Today” Describing the Way the North Korean People Live As Accurately As Possible

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North Korea Today” Describing the Way the North Korean People Live As Accurately As Possible RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR NORTH KOREAN SOCIETY http://www.goodfriends.or.kr/[email protected] Weekly Newsletter No.334 March 2010 [“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.] ___________________________________________________________________________ [Hot Topics] Sinuiju City Party Urges "Let's help the poor," but Residents Remain Indifferent Residents of Baeksa-dong in Sinuiju City Fights with the Head of the Neighborhood Unit Funeral Cars Enter Chung-Jin Cemetery Daily [Food] The Urban Poor, Pushed to the Level of Eating Corn Noodles Flavored only by Salt [Economy] Gimchaek Steel Mill Loses Corn Supply Received from Hoeryong [Politics] National Security Agency, Prevention of Defectors is the Top Priority [Society] Soldiers’ Malnutrition is Serious Enough to Affect Military Training Son Returns from Military Service Looking Like a Walking Corpse, Ill with Tuberculosis and Malnutrition Parents Are Summoned by a Troop to Find Out Their Son Is Dead [Women/Children/Education] The Number of Kindergarten Children Has Decreased Each Year in North Hamgyong Province Maternity Ward Rarely Used in Hoeryong for its Worn-out Facility and High Costs Harsh Living Condition Poses Difficulties with Post Delivery Care [Accidents] Suicide at Kim Jung-Suk Historic Site Leading Secretary of Kangwon Province Died in a Car Accident Heading to a Meeting in Pyongyang Last Year ___________________________________________________________________________ [Hot Topics] Sinuiju City Party Urges "Let's help the poor," but Residents Remain Indifferent The farming management commission of Sinuiju City in the North Pyongan Province held an emergency meeting to prevent mass death from starvation and distributed 10 kg of grain to the poorest households. However, more people are dying due to starvation. The City Party and the People’s assembly held meetings at each neighborhood units and stressed, “It is time to show our public moral and help our poor neighbors voluntarily.” However, the residents were indifferent to the campaign for voluntary help. The residents complained, saying, “Who can we help when we are barely surviving?” Other than a few residents who called the campaign crazy, rest of the residents stayed quiet during the meeting. With the residents refusing to voluntarily help the poor, the City Party ordered the heads of the Neighborhood Units to collect 2kg of rice from each household. The heads of the Neighborhood Units began collecting rice next day; however, only two or three out of 40 households contributed. The heads of the neighborhood units even begged them to contribute even several hundred grams, but the residents remained indifferent. Residents of Baeksa-dong in Sinuiju City Fights with the Head of the Neighborhood Unit The heads of the neighborhood units run into conflict with the residents as they attempt to collect grain from each household. Park Hye-Ran (alias) who lives in Baeksa-dong in Sinuiju City yelled at the head of the Neighborhood Unit, "We didn’t get anything from you. Why do you keep trying to take what we have? We are also having a hard time surviving!” She said “If you still want something from us, just take this.” And put a trashcan on his head. The head of the neighborhood units got angry at her, "What can I do? I’m only carrying out the orders of the high officials. Do you think I am taking your grain for myself?" He ended up getting into a physical altercation with Mrs. Park. As people stopped the fight, Mrs. Park threatened, “If you show up at my house again, you better be prepared to die!” Funeral Cars Enter Chung-Jin Cemetery Daily In North Hamgyong, Chung-Jin City, within the area of Chung-Ahm, there is a graveyard known as Gu-Juk town. Before the currency exchange announcement was made, one corpse arrived every three to four days for burial. As food costs rose and the number of starving citizens skyrocketed, there has been an increase in the number of deaths because of malnutrition and illness. The number of households that visited the Gu-Juk cemetery from January 7 to 27 this year averaged from four to six households. Currently, at least two to three cars enter the graveyard daily. This indicates an increase in the number of deaths. Sang-Jo Kim (alias) said that the biggest reason for the higher number of deaths is starvation and “the inability of the sick to obtain cures caused much of the deaths. Hospital patients could not use any drugs because the pharmacists would not sell them.” He expressed frustration with the way the market was managed. [Food] The Urban Poor, Pushed to the Level of Eating Corn Noodles Flavored only by Salt The level of food that poor urban residents consume is deplorable. Most add condiments such as salt and soy sauce to add flavor to an otherwise flavorless soup of corn noodles. Those who can afford kimchi are much better off. Others who can manage to eat bits of corn or vegetables in the soup are in much better states. Sung-Hee Lim (alias) expressed the sorrow and difficulty of getting food. “Noodles such as udon become thin gruel in water. They are digested quickly, and we feel hungry after a moment. This is why corn noodles are more suitable, but it is not easy to gain hold of bits of corn noodles,” he said. The residents are in urgent need of a greater food supply. [Economy] Gimchaek Steel Mill Loses Corn Supply Received from Hoeryong The Gimchaek Steel Mill Association of Chung-Jin City, North Hamgyong is facing problems with its initial plans to sell steel to China and receive corn in return. The association exchanged fertilizer and plastic wrappers received from China with Hoeryong City to receive corn in return. Since February 20, the corn that was to be delivered to Gimchaek Steel Mill was piled at Hoeryong station. However, the plan was delayed as the necessary vehicles could not be properly assembled, and the crops had to wait until February 25. The farm guards secretly sold the corn to traders. The amount of corn returned by the police was over four tons, and about 300 to 600 kg was taken per day. Some farm workers were caught while unlawfully trading the crops for necessary farm items during the delivery to the station, and the amount was as large as three tons. With the decrease in the amount of corn delivered to Gimchaek Steel Mill, crop distribution to each laborer will also be decreased. [Politics] National Security Agency, Prevention of Defectors is the Top Priority This year, the National Security Agency decided to strengthen the crackdown of defectors by making it a top priority after many incidents of people fleeing abroad due to domestic economic difficulties. Accordingly, the security agencies near the national border areas in North Hamgyong, Ryanggang, and North Pyongan Provinces are monitoring the families of defectors. First, they check the financial status of the family of a defector and investigate the source of money if they exchange foreign currency, seem to have too much money considering their income and expenses, and summon them to check if they purchase something at the market. The family members suspected of maintaining connection with the defectors are followed around, and stopped and searched their bag or luggage without a probable cause, which places them under tight surveillance even in the absence of evidence. The People’s Safety Agency is monitoring the Chinese people residing in North Korea. They ordered the police stations in the national border regions to check if they have received money from the defectors. Monitoring of phone calls is done 24 hours a day by deploying call detecting devices around the town or near the border areas where phone calls can be made. Those who stay outside late at night are stopped and frisked. The family or relatives of defectors under suspicion are being put on the blacklist and followed, or being stopped and searched when they are about to enter their house. In the mean time, those who get caught while carrying a mobile phone become subject to severe physical punishment to make examples out of them. [Society] Soldiers’ Malnutrition is Serious Enough to Affect Military Training With the exception of special branches of the military, the malnutrition problem among the regular soldiers is very serious. In the case of artillery training, solders can’t even load the 10kg shell properly to the cannon because lethargic soldiers are unable to lift cannon shells. The morale of soldiers in an army base in Kangwon Province fell to the bottom because numerous soldiers in each company became weaklings. Each military base is taking the measures of selecting the soldiers in a serious condition and let them receive medical treatment at a military hospital. However, that is not sufficient to improve the malnutrition problem. The soldiers in the military hospital who can’t even move around on their own are being sent home. Currently, the officers are receiving food distribution, but their families did not receive distribution in January and February. Son Returns from Military Service Looking Like a Walking Corpse, Ill with Tuberculosis and Malnutrition Huh Yong Sook (alias) separated from her husband in her 30's and raised Kim Kwang Hyuk (alias), her only son, alone in Hamju County of South Hamgyong Province. She managed a photo shop and proudly raised Kim before sending him off to serve in the military three years ago. Worried about her son, Huh even snuck the escorting officer a few extra bucks to ensure her son's well-being.
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