Police in Anju, North Pyongan province, are facing public outrage over their tepid investigation of a fatal hit-and-run, Daily NK has learned. A woman in her 50s was killed in early February near Anju University of Engineering, according to a source in the province recently. The victim, a single mother of two, was found dead at the scene by a passerby who alerted authorities. Ten days have elapsed without police identifying any suspects. Investigators cite the accident’s location in a low-traffic area with no surveillance cameras as major obstacles. “Cities like Pyongsong have security cameras around apartments and streets. But Anju is smaller, with barely any surveillance. When accidents happen in camera blind spots, drivers sometimes just disappear,” the source explained. North Korean law mandates vehicle impoundment and up to five years of hard labor for fatal hit-and-runs under Articles 78 and 179 of the Road Transport Act. However, the...

An aerial view of downtown Sinuiju taken from the Chinese side of the border. (Wikimedia Commons) Soldiers from North Korea’s 27th Brigade border guard unit are increasingly breaking into civilian homes to steal food along the Chinese frontier in North Hamgyong province, fueling tensions with local residents. Three soldiers were caught robbing a home in Hoeryong’s Yuson Workers’ District recently, a Daily NK source reported earlier this week. After hearing suspicious noises, neighbors rushed to the scene and found the soldiers ransacking the house and storage shed. The soldiers were severely beaten by the crowd and later hospitalized. “Home break-ins by soldiers are getting worse,” the source said. “Even with nails on fence tops and multiple locks on sheds, we can’t stop them.” The spike in thefts stems from severe food shortages in the military units. Border guards “work around the clock – standing watch, gathering firewood, and tending support...

FILE PHOTO: North Korean women leaving a customs office in Dandong, Liaoning Province, China. (Daily NK) North Korean workers continue to exit China in the new year, increasing the burden on those who remain behind. “North Korean laborers stationed in Dandong, Liaoning province, are returning to Sinuiju daily,” a source in China told Daily NK recently. “Around 100 workers at a time board buses bound for North Korea.” The daily exodus has slowed somewhat since October, when about 200 workers were departing each day. While workers continue to leave, no new North Korean laborers have arrived in Liaoning province recently. This has left Liaoning’s industrial zones, which traditionally relied heavily on North Korean labor, without replacement workers. Small groups of North Korean laborers have only been dispatched to less-visited areas of Jilin province along the North Korean border. The remaining workers face increasingly demanding conditions. At one Dandong textile factory,...

FILE PHOTO: The national flag of the People’s Republic of China. (Daily NK) North Korea and China’s security ministries are strengthening collaboration to monitor North Korean defectors in China. “The Ministry of State Security has implemented a confidential policy to share lists of defectors in China with Chinese authorities, including both undocumented individuals and those who have obtained South Korean citizenship,” a source in North Hamgyong province told Daily NK recently. The initiative aims to monitor defectors who might pose security risks to either country and gather intelligence about those involved in anti-North Korean or anti-Chinese activities within China. “This joint effort between the two countries’ security ministries received final approval from China’s Henan province on Feb. 11. Both North Korean state security organizations and Chinese security agencies in the region have received corresponding directives,” the source said. Under the agreement, North Korea’s Ministry of State Security receives real-time updates...

North Korean President Vladimir Putin’s arrival in Pyongyang “is warmly welcomed as the largest state visit ever,” North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun reported on June 19, 2024. (Rodong Sinmun-News1) North Korea’s leadership is working to address concerns within the ruling party and military about the country’s deepening alliance with Russia. “There’s been pushback from both Workers’ Party and military circles about our growing dependence on Russia, which stems from Kim Jong Un’s recent strategic pivot toward Moscow. The Organization and Guidance Department and the military’s General Political Bureau are currently investigating these reactions,” a Pyongyang source told Daily NK recently. Some officials have quietly expressed fears that closer economic and military alliance with Russia could compromise the party’s independence. Policy departments report internal rivalries emerging over mineral production rights and trade opportunities as economic cooperation with Russia expands. Foreign policy officials worry that North Korea’s eager embrace of Russia could strain...

In this picture from state-run media in July 2022, North Koreans are shown enjoying dog meat soup at a restaurant. (Rodong Sinmun-News1) North Korea’s Central Committee has dispatched inspectors nationwide to investigate official corruption in the restaurant industry following a recent secretariat meeting, Daily NK has learned. The inspections have spooked officials and devastated business revenues. “Central Committee inspectors have been scrutinizing officials since early this month. Restaurants are really feeling the impact,” a source in North Pyongan province told Daily NK recently. The crackdown follows the 30th Enlarged Meeting of the Secretariat, where members of Nampo’s Onchon county party committee were severely reprimanded for accepting free drinks at a bar. Businesses implicated in the incident, including local restaurants and entertainment venues, now face serious consequences. Inspectors are questioning proprietors about official visits, their purposes, and accompanying guests. With inspections ongoing, regular patrons who visited for business meetings or favors...

Kim Jong Un meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Russian space center on September 13, 2023. (Rodong Sinmun-News1) North Korea is restructuring its supply chains for essential goods, shifting focus from Chinese to Russian trade routes as part of an expanding bilateral trade relationship, Daily NK has learned. A source in North Korea told Daily NK recently that the party’s Economic Affairs Department ratified an order on Feb. 8, which was issued the following day as an additional administrative directive for February. The order went to the Ministry of External Economic Relations, Ministry of Land and Maritime Transportation, other related ministries, and provincial trade agencies. “The Cabinet issued this additional order due to urgent needs beyond February’s basic economic plan,” the source said. The directive primarily focuses on redirecting procurement of essential supplies like oil, food, and fertilizer to Russia, reflecting the Cabinet’s view that “transactions with Russia...

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and senior Workers’ Party official, walks with two children outside May Day Stadium during a New Year’s celebration broadcast by North Korean state television on Jan. 1. (Korean Central Television via YouTube/Screen capture) Rumors remain rife in North Korea after the country’s media late last year disclosed images of children presumed to be those of Deputy Department Director Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Several people found themselves in trouble as rumors spread that the two children who appeared in broadcasts were Kim Yo Jong’s. However, the People’s Committee of South Pyongan province recently issued an extraordinary internal order to “leniently forgive people who spread rumors.” “Some people are having a tough time after being dragged off by party organizations or even local branches of the Ministry of State Security to write...

FILE PHOTO: North Korean currency. (Daily NK) North Korean market prices have been declining for over a month, reversing last year’s continuous upward trend. The most dramatic change has been in the North Korean won’s exchange rate against the Chinese yuan. Daily NK’s latest market survey reveals that the yuan traded at 2,300 won in Pyongyang on Feb. 2, marking a 23.3% drop from its January 18 rate of 3,000 won. Similar declines were observed in other regions, with Hyesan in Ryanggang province recording a 22.2% decrease to 2,450 won. This marks the first significant downturn in the yuan-won exchange rate since North Korea’s 2020 border closure during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. dollar has also weakened against the won, though less dramatically. In Pyongyang, the dollar fell 3.2% from 21,700 won on Jan. 18 to 21,000 won on Feb. 2. Sinuiju showed a similar pattern, with the dollar dropping...

St. Petersburg, Russia, in October 2024. The Lakhta Center, Europe’s tallest skyscraper, can be seen. (Daily NK) North Korea’s Seventh General Bureau has launched a recruitment campaign to send soldiers for construction work in Russia, Daily NK has learned. A source in North Korea told Daily NK recently that the initiative began following orders from the Central Committee on Feb. 4. “The Seventh General Bureau is working with Namgang Trading Company on this recruitment drive, which started Feb. 6 and will continue for four months,” the source said. The program appears to address Russia’s construction worker shortage, a consequence of its ongoing war with Ukraine. According to the source, North Korean authorities approached Moscow in late 2024 with a proposal to send active-duty soldiers to Russian construction projects. Russian officials approved the plan in early February. The bureau aims to select 1,000 soldiers who have served at least three years,...