Mick Hartley

From the Chosun Ilbo (South Korean):

Violence is growing in North Korea amid a worsening food shortage after the disastrous currency revaluation last December, according to sources in the hermit country.

One person was killed by armed guards on Feb. 16 when a group of people attempted to rob a food train at Komusan Railway Station in Puryong-gun, North Hamgyong Province, defector group North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity said. The attack came on North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's birthday after a disastrous currency reform sent food prices skyrocketing.

The train was loaded with rice imported from China, the group said. Workers, outraged over the death, attacked armed guards with ploughs and police and military were called in.

"North Koreans are angry that guards shot a worker dead for a few kilograms of rice but protesters are unlikely to get off lightly because the incident happened on Kim's birthday," the group said.

And here's an interview at Dailly NK, with a "37-year old male factory worker" from Shinuiju, about the chaos in the markets since the disastrous currency reform in December, and the soaring cost of rice:

Why is the price soaring?

Due to the rising dollar value, rice prices are also skyrocketing. People tend not to believe in the Chosun currency, they prefer dollars and Yuan to ours, because we don’t know when the upper (the authorities) will want to adopt other policies. The amount of foreign currency is limited within North Korea, but wholesalers all want it. Therefore, the price of rice may well go up further.

– For this situation, don’t residents blame the authorities?

Of course they do. Above all, the people say there is nothing they can trust, and ask, “how will we get by now?” The elderly say, “Now, I have only one thing left. Death.” All the property, which they worked hard for through all kinds of hardships, has been taken away.  […]

– Have you heard of anyone starving to death?

I’ve heard rumors, but not seen any. It is not a situation in which many people will die of starvation. I have a friend who lives in Pyongyang. He said that even in Pyongyang it is not so good, worse than before, and a few people have died of starvation in the suburbs of Pyongyang. I don’t know if it is true or not.

– How do people express their resentment?

They will not submit materials for any social duties. While starving, how can we give things to the country? Nobody has any sincere will to give things.

To put that report in some kind of context, here's a reminder of the kind of risks such informants run:

A North Korean firing squad publicly executed a factory worker for sneaking news out of the reclusive communist country via his illicit mobile phone, Seoul-based radio said Thursday.

The armaments factory worker was accused of divulging the price of rice and other information on living conditions to a friend who defected to South Korea years ago, Open Radio for North Korea reported on its Web site.

The man, surnamed Chong, made calls to the defector using an illegal Chinese mobile phone, the broadcaster said, citing a North Korean security agency official it did not identify. The report didn't say when the phone calls were made.

The execution took place by firing squad in late January in the eastern coastal city of Hamhung, according to Open Radio for North Korea, a broadcaster specializing in the isolated country. The station broadcasts into North Korea, which tightly controls news.