Mick Hartley

Another snapshot into life in North Korea from the Daily NK:

North Korean authorities are stopping pedestrians in border areas and forcing many to work on greenhouse construction projects. These daytime roundups are occurring in North Pyongan province, a region that suffered heavy flooding last year.

According to a source in North Pyongan province recently, agents from Unified Command 82, which oversees the suppression of anti-socialist behavior, have been questioning pedestrians in broad daylight on the streets of Sinuiju. Those unable to prove their workplace affiliation or show evidence of official business are being sent to greenhouse construction sites.

The agents are also using accusations of “non-socialist behavior” – such as improper dress or street vending – as justification for conscripting people into forced labor. Those sent to the construction sites typically end up digging holes or sorting rocks.

These roundups appear linked to Kim Jong Un’s recently announced plan for extensive greenhouse construction. The initiative was originally presented as a way to improve living conditions in flood-damaged areas, but has now become a pretext for forced labor.

It's the old story of grand projects being promised from on high, followed by the realisation that there are no means of delivering said projects. So…forced labour. Drag people off the streets and into chain gangs.

The sweeps are affecting people across different areas and social groups. “A moonshine trafficker in Kaechon was detained by Unified Command 82 on Jan. 15 and forced to clear ground at a construction site for three days. Housewives are also frequently being conscripted,” the source added.

Sinuiju residents have grown increasingly resentful of the large-scale construction project. “People here don’t want these greenhouses or other facilities. They’re worried about being drafted for state construction projects nationwide and being forced to pay for building materials again this year,” the source said.

In a few years time, if this follows the usual trajectory, it will turn out that this large-scale construction project, like all the other large-scale construction projects, was shoddily built, using cheap defective material, and is now falling apart.