＜North Korea Floods＞Floods Destroy Barbed Wire and Guard Posts in Parts of North Korea-China border... Government Keeps Local Residents Away from Riverside Restoration Work

Torrential rains in late July washed away barbed wire, surveillance cameras, and border guard posts along sections of the Yalu and Tumen rivers in North Korea. In northern North Korea, where reconstruction efforts are continuing, residents are being kept away from these border crossings because authorities are wary of residents defecting. (ISHIMARU Jiro / KANG Ji-won)

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◆“Government is Afraid of People Escape”

The heavy rains caused severe damage in North Pyongan and Jagang provinces, but also in Ryanggang and Hamgyong provinces, where landslides and dike collapses swept away homes.

On August 29, a reporting partner in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province, said:

“In Geumsaeng-ri, Mangyang-dong, and Yuseong districts along the Tumen River, many border guard posts and barbed wire fences have been washed away, so only the military is involved in restoration work, and the general population is not allowed to go near the border. They are afraid of people fleeing to China.”

◆Government Intensifies Surveillance of Soldiers amid Concern over Defections

The government’s surveillance of soldiers working near the border has also intensified.

“Soldiers must work in groups of two, and they are under mutual surveillance. They are not allowed to work in sections here and there, but in a fixed place, and the personnel are thoroughly checked when they start and when they leave. That’s because soldiers might run away.”

In Ryanggang Province, the damage was also severe in Gumsan-ri, a suburb of Hyesan, and Gasan-ri in Bocheon County, where barbed wire, surveillance cameras, and border guard posts along the Yalu River were destroyed.

“The army is being mobilized to repair border fences, while civilians are being mobilized to clear fields away from the border and clean up damaged houses,” a source in the province said on August 30.

※ ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.