{"id":4032,"date":"2019-01-17T12:41:48","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T03:41:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4032"},"modified":"2019-01-21T12:30:58","modified_gmt":"2019-01-21T03:30:58","slug":"renews-nationality-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2019\/01\/recommendations\/renews-nationality-cards\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cInside N. Korea\uff1e Identity Crisis Resolved: Regime issues new ID\u2019s ahead of possible Supreme People\u2019s Assembly election"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Identity cards will be renewed for the first time in 8 years. This photo, taken in October, 2013, has been partially edited for personal safety. (ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25c6 Identity cards to be renewed ahead of possible March election<\/h2>\n

After a year of delays due to financial difficulties, it appears that North Korea has finally resumed issuing new identity cards. Originally scheduled for distribution in the spring of 2018, the identity cards are now being issued for the first time in over 8 years and for the first time since Kim Jong-un came to power. The identity cards, used to update and track the information of residents, will be integral to maintaining the regime\u2019s control over the people, say multiple partners reporting on the development from North Korea.<\/p>\n

The process for the renewal of identity cards began in 2017, with the authorities announcing that new cards would be issued in May 2018. By the end of 2017, photographs had been taken of all residents aged 17 and older. However, the cards were never produced, as financial difficulties brought repeated delays.<\/p>\n

A reporting partner living in the northern region of the country, met with a officer from the local police station\u2019s \u201cresident registration division\u201d and explained the situation as follows:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe police officer said, \u2018After continuous delays due to financial difficulties, new identity cards will finally start being issued. Distribution should be completed by February 16 (Kim Jong-il's birthday).\u2019 In some regions, it seems that new cards were being issued since last December.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next page:10,000 North Korean defectors have entered South Korea over the past 8 years...<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25c6 10,000 North Korean defectors have entered South Korea over the past 8 years<\/h2>\n

Identity cards in North Korea were last renewed in the summer of 2011, just before the death of Kim Jong-il. Since then, there has been a large number of residents whose \u2018whereabouts have become unknown\u2019, such as North Korean defectors, missing persons, and those who have left their residence without authorization. Although it is unknown exactly how many North Koreans have gone missing since 2011, South Korean government statistics show that over 10,000 defectors have fled the North. To combat the rising number of defectors and disappearances, the Kim Jong-un regime has been focusing on registering the information of residents as a way of maintaining control over the population.<\/p>\n

Another reporting partner in North Pyongan Province said that, \"In 2018, police stations continued to take the census through Inminbans (neighborhood political units). Though the real purpose behind the census was to monitor the movements of individual residents, including defectors. Police officers and Inminban leaders visited homes and checked for inconsistencies between the resident register and the actual number of residents in each home.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2017, the North Korean government planned to conduct a national census, requesting financial support from the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund). To gather this financial support, the UNFPA requested a contribution of six million USD from South Korea, which the South Korean government approved. When the Kim Jong-un regime conducted nuclear tests and long-range ballistic missile launches in 2017, however, subsequent sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council led to the suspension of financial support.<\/p>\n

For the Kim Jong-un regime, the lost funds marked a failure in its plan to maintain control over residents. Moreover, with the government\u2019s funds dwindling due to economic sanctions in 2018, further delays may be inevitable. It is also possible that the new identity cards may be issued electronically, but this rumor has not yet been confirmed.<\/p>\n

A police officer who met with our reporting partner said that, \"An order from within the Party was issued at the end of last year saying that the Supreme People's Assembly election will be held in March, once the renewal of nationality cards is completed.\" Elections for the Supreme People's Assembly, North Korea's top legislative body, are largely held for show, with elected representatives serving 5-year terms. The last such election took place in March, 2014.<\/p>\n

\u203b ASIAPRESS contacts its reporting partners through Chinese mobile phones smuggled into North Korea.<\/p>\n

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