{"id":3823,"date":"2018-08-21T15:51:55","date_gmt":"2018-08-21T06:51:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=3823"},"modified":"2021-07-02T14:09:04","modified_gmt":"2021-07-02T05:09:04","slug":"surveillance-of-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2018\/08\/recommendations\/surveillance-of-residents\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cInside N. Korea\uff1e Government strengthens surveillance of citizens\u3000 Strip searches conducted on women"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

(Reference Photo) A Ministry of State Security officer at the '10th Guard Post' checking for travel permits. Taken in a northern province of North Korea by Mindulle in October 2013. (ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25c6Extensive investigation on citizen<\/strong> activities in progress<\/h2>\n

While the Kim Jong-un regime is abroad promoting itself as a partner for dialogue, it is also strengthening its surveillance of and control over the activities of North Korean citizens.<\/p>\n

One of the methods used to monitor the activities of residents is the 'census'. Police officers and leaders of the Inminban (neighborhood watch group) visit homes to check for inconsistencies between the family\u2019s official register and its actual residency situation. Even though the North Korean government issued new \"nationality cards\u201d in 2011, the Kim Jong-un regime is working on creating new identification cards to oversee residents and deal with the large numbers of defectors, missing persons, and people relocating without authorization.<\/p>\n

\"Citizens have been getting their photos taken since the end of last year for the card renewals. The government said the cards would be reissued by May, but I heard there had been a delay and that it was going to take until August,\" says an ASIAPRESS reporting partner from a northern province of North Korea.<\/p>\n

There is no freedom of residence or movement in North Korea. However, there are still residents who secretly relocate in search of more favorable economic conditions or, in some cases, escape from North Korea. Due to wide-spread corruption among government officials and executives, bribes are frequently used in these situations to avoid trouble.<\/p>\n

\"If a family leaves North Korea to go to the South, they pay bribes in advance for authorities to report them as missing or dead. However, many still fear the \u2018census\u2019 since the truth behind these false reports may be discovered if a thorough investigation is conducted,\" explains our reporting partner.<\/p>\n

The international community is also involved in the 'census'. In October this year, the North Korean government planned to undertake a joint census with the United Nations Population Fund and requested their financial support. The United Nations Population Fund asked South Korea for a financial contribution of six million USD, to which the South Korean government agreed. However, through a census funded by the United Nations, the Kim Jong-un regime could secure an effective system for surveilling and controlling its citizens.
\nNext Page : Strip searches conducted on women...<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

An example of North Korea's previous nationality cards, updated in 2004. (ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25c6Strip searches conducted on women<\/h2>\n

Security checks and searches are being strengthened in North Korea. A female partner, reporting from Yanggang Province, went around rural northern areas from May to June to purchase herbal medicine ingredients for resale. She said that she was frequently stopped and questioned by the police during this period.<\/p>\n

\"They thoroughly inspect not only your load but also your car, even by taking out the seats. I entered a farmhouse, whose owner is an acquaintance, but the police showed up and dragged me out saying that I wasn\u2019t registered to stay. They confiscated all 30 kilograms of my herbal medicine ingredients,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The situation is even harsher at a checkpoint called the \u201810th<\/sup> Guard Post\u2019, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of State Security (secret police). The process for security checks was described by a female reporting partner in North Hamkyung Province as follows.<\/p>\n

\"A metal detector was brought into the '10th<\/sup> Guard Post.' If the detector sounds when taken near your body or load, you have to unpack and show them everything. Even if you\u2019re a woman, they will strip search you without exception and even check inside your underwear. People are scared and don\u2019t carry around anything that could cause trouble if discovered.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to reports, security agents pay special attention to USB drives or memory cards from China, Chinese cell phones, and drugs. (Kang Ji-won)<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Editor\u2019s notes on North Korean reporters<\/a><\/span><\/a> <\/strong>
\nARCHIVE(pdf) >><\/a>
\nDPRK MAP >><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u25c6Extensive investigation on citizen activities in progress While the Kim Jong-un regime is abroad promoting itself \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3825,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3823"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3823\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}