Mick Hartley

From the Daily NK:

Two young vagrants in Samsu county, Ryanggang province, died of cold and hunger in late December, a source in the province told Daily NK recently.

“The county officials swiftly processed the case to keep it under wraps,” the source added.

According to the source, the two deceased vagrants were sisters whose original home was in South Pyongan province. After their parents’ deaths, the sisters struggled to make a living and eventually wandered aimlessly until they reached Samsu county, on the border with China.

After reaching Samsu county last fall, the two sisters subsisted on the street until they succumbed to harsh winter weather just days before New Year’s.

The Samsu county authorities dealt with the sisters’ deaths as quickly and quietly as possible to avoid unwanted attention during the “special security period” at year’s end.

“The incident would have a direct impact on their year-end performance evaluation, so the county police made it a top priority to clear the scene immediately,” the source said.

Under orders from the county party committee to quietly process the case as deaths of young vagrants with no connections, the Samsu county police cordoned off the scene and quickly disposed of the bodies.

The county police reportedly warned people living nearby not to talk about what they had witnessed.