Q: So, despite the authorities putting seemingly great effort into preparation for the congress, you don’t expect anything from it?
A: “Expect anything? I doubt it. I’d like it if they could distribute our rations in the same way they did before. But we know that conditions here are difficult, so these things are hard to ask for. Rather, I’d ask them not to crack down on people trying to survive by doing their own businesses. Everyone here is scrapping a living by means of informal businesses. But they force us to pay bribes while we struggle to make a living. They extort us, telling us, “This is illegal! This is wrong!”
Q: Do you mean that the situation has deteriorated since the inauguration of Kim Jong-un?
A: “Some people say that the Supreme Leader (Kim Il-sung) considers the people, but the nation has become a mess over the course of the two Kim family successions. They can’t feed us, but won’t let us live how we want to live. If we could do our own thing we could eat cooked white rice and meat soup by ourselves. People are not idiots. They can make a living by themselves, even without state control.”
Q: What are your expectations of the Kim Jong-un regime?
A: I hope that they will open up the country, like China. Frankly speaking, if they do, people wouldn’t feel the need to leave their hometowns [North Korean defectors]. I don’t know why they fear reform so much. While drinking, an official, one of my acquaintances, said: “If we open up like China, we would be overthrown. So I think the top will never open the door.”
Q: Do you mean that they don’t want reform because they fear their regime would be overthrown? Even if opening up will improve the lives of the people?
A: Absolutely! Those son-of-bitches [Kim Jong-un and his followers] think that they should survive to the last. That’s why they don’t [initiate reforms].
* Editor’s notes on North Korean reporters
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