In early August, the Kim Jong-un regime released a proclamation banning the use of foreign currency and declaring that all distribution of goods must occur under government control and management. Serious violators of the proclamation’s orders face execution and life imprisonment. In mid-August, several ASIAPRESS reporting partners provided information about the impact of the proclamation on North Korean society. (KANG Ji-won)
◆ Donju are major targets of proclamation
The proclamation was released by the Ministry of Social Security (North Korea’s national police agency) and was entitled, “In Regards to the Thorough Ban on Goods Transactions Outside of Government Control and the Circulation of Foreign Currency.”
The proclamation was posted in public places, particularly those areas with surveillance cameras to monitor whether anyone takes the notices away or photographs them. Officials came to inminban (neighborhood watch unit) meetings to explain the content of the proclamation, which was also broadcast through the country’s “Third Network,” which is a network of wired speakers installed in North Korean homes.
“People conducting small-scale business activities are getting netted by the authorities (due to the proclamation), but I think that the major target is members of the donju, whose business activities are larger in scale,” one of the reporting partners told ASIAPRESS.
※ ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.
- ＜Inside N. Korea＞ “People are stealing unripe corn from the fields” Farms already see a rash of thefts of grains…Security guards given live rounds and even soldiers are deployed
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- ＜Inside N. Korea＞The authorities finally start cracking down on housing transactions, “Severely punish anti-socialist behavior”…Crackdown on 25-year-old “housing market” may cause chaos
- ＜Inside N. Korea＞Even the police face temporary cut in rations due to financial troubles… “In May, they had no choice but to buy food on credit”
- ＜Inside N. Korea＞ Daycares and preschools stop providing meals due to financial troubles…Parents facing demands for rice and money protest by turning their backs on the schools, sending their kids to neighbors instead
