Two men from Pochon County in northern North Korea’s Ryanggang Province crossed the Yalu River and fled to China in late October, prompting a sweeping investigation in the area that is still ongoing. Authorities immediately dispatched agents from the National Intelligence Agency (formerly the Ministry of State Security; the secret police) to China, where they are working with Chinese authorities to hunt down the escapees. A reporting partner in Ryanggang Province passed on the news in early November. (HONG Mari / KANG Ji-won)
◆ Escapees were “a mine worker and a farm worker”
The reporting partner described the defection as follows:
“In late October, two men in Pochon County crossed the river into China in the middle of the night. Apparently they were caught on surveillance cameras – one was a mine worker and the other a worker at Pochon Farm. The Information Bureau says the fact that they evaded both the (high-voltage) electric wires (on the barbed-wire fence) and the landmines (buried along the riverbank) means someone inside the border guard must have helped them. The bureau has even ordered an emergency inspection and is questioning everyone involved. They’ve searched the homes of people close to the border guards, too.”
※ Claims that landmines have been laid along the upper reaches of the Yalu River on the North Korea-China border are widely circulated inside North Korea, but ASIAPRESS has not been able to confirm them.
Ryanggang Province sits on the upper reaches of the Yalu River, which divides North Korea and China. Because the river is narrow there, the province historically saw more defections than anywhere else. Pochon County lies about one kilometer upstream from Hyesan, the provincial capital, and the river there is only 20 to 30 meters wide.
Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext, the Kim Jong-un regime reinforced the barbed-wire fencing along the Yalu River and installed large numbers of surveillance cameras, sealing the border under two or three layers of security. Crossing into China was thought to have become impossible.
◆ “Nothing to eat” in escapee’s home
While carrying out a large-scale pursuit and search, authorities are also investigating local residents.
“Once the incident was reported, the Information Bureau sent an arrest team to China the very next day, and they reportedly launched an emergency search operation together with (China’s) Public Security Bureau and the border defense forces (border guards). Yesterday (Nov. 4), a notice went out through the inminban telling people to report anyone suspicious in their area.
From the authorities’ perspective, it seems they want to send the message that they’ll track people down no matter where they run. Information Bureau people are also going around saying there are so many surveillance cameras in China that it’s only a matter of time before the two are caught.
The head of the inminban (to which the two escapees belonged) is apparently being replaced as well, for failing to properly manage residents. The authorities are treating this like a major incident. They say there was nothing to eat in the (escaped) mine worker’s home, and nothing to sell, either. Word is spreading that he risked his life to flee (just to survive).”
※ Inminban: The lowest-level resident surveillance and control organization. Typically made up of 20 to 30 households, or roughly 60 to 80 people.
