Heatwaves come for everyone alike, but not everyone can endure them alike. As record-breaking high temperatures blanket the globe, North Korea too is seeing a continuing string of accidents and damage caused by the heat. The gap between those who can afford cooling equipment (air conditioners) and those who cannot has been thrown into sharp relief by the heatwave, at times becoming a matter of life and death. (Intern reporter HAN Gaon / KANG Jiwon)

◆ How North Koreans Are Coping with the Extreme Heat

Record-breaking heat continued in North Korea as well this summer. According to Korean Central Television, from early July to early August this year the highest temperatures reached 33 degrees Celsius in the northern region, 37 degrees Celsius in the eastern region, and 38–39 degrees Celsius in the southern region. In early August, a reporting partner in Hyesan, Ryanggang Province, said, "Many farms say this year's harvest is a complete write-off. Even corn that had grown tall is drying up and dying before it can ripen because of the drought. And it's not just crops. The authorities are telling people not to work more than three hours during the day and to work at night instead, but there have also been deaths from heatstroke."
※ The extent of heatwave damage to crops will be covered in a separate article.

When Seoul's highest temperature reached 39 degrees Celsius this summer, residents of Seoul crowded indoors to escape the heat. But residents of Hyesan headed instead to pits dug about one meter into the ground, shaded storage sheds, or the riverside. Some among the wealthy and privileged cadres own air conditioners and receive priority access to electricity, but ordinary households have, at best, a fan — and even that is hard to use because of power shortages. People have no choice but to find other ways to cope with the heat.

As a countermeasure against the heatwave, North Korean authorities instructed people to avoid outdoor activity from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and to work in the morning and at night instead. Beyond that, about all they offered was advice to wear a hat or use a parasol, wear sunglasses, and drink plenty of water.

◆ A Pit Instead of an Air Conditioner, a Shed Instead of a Fan

Simply following the government's advice obviously does nothing to help people escape the heat. People try to find alternatives however they can, but this sometimes leads to tragedy. A reporting partner in Hyesan said, "It's too hot both inside and outside the house, so there's nowhere to sleep. There was a case where an entire family died, buried in soil, while sleeping in a pit dug inside a storage shed."

The reporting partner added, "The inside of apartments feels like a furnace, so people lay out bedding in front of their apartment buildings to sleep, or go sleep in storage sheds."

A defector who lived in Ryanggang Province until 2019 said, "In the summer, ordinary people would wrap cloth or cardboard around their storage sheds to block out the sunlight and make a place to sleep there." Seven years on, it seems that people’s' countermeasures against the heat have barely changed.

Park Young-suk, a North Korean defector originally from Hiroshima, passed away in Seoul on August 3. Park went to North Korea in December 1962 as part of the "repatriation project" for ethnic Koreans in Japan. Two of her brothers and two of her sons were taken away for political reasons and died. In 1997 she defected with her daughter and grandson and entered South Korea. She spoke publicly about the harsh experiences she endured in North Korea and about the atomic bomb damage her family suffered in Hiroshima. She was 85.(ISHIMIARU Jiro)

◆ Returned to be at her father's deathbed, but arrived too late

Born to parents who had come to Japan from South Gyeongsang Province, Park was born in Hiroshima in December 1940, the eighth of ten siblings. While evacuated to Azaka in Yamagata County, Hiroshima Prefecture, she witnessed the mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb. Her family's home in Hirose Kitamachi was destroyed, and her eldest brother's wife, who was pregnant at the time, was killed in the blast. Her fourth-oldest brother, who later went to North Korea, suffered for many years from the after-effects of radiation exposure.

In 1960, her parents and seven siblings repatriated to North Korea, but Park herself, wary of the lack of freedom under socialism, refused to go. In her youth in Hiroshima, she enjoyed classical music, theater, and film.

Park went to North Korea at the age of 22. After receiving a letter saying her father was gravely ill, she rushed to North Korea alone in December 1962, hoping to be at her parents' side at the end, but by the time she arrived in Chongjin her father had already died 19 days earlier. The brother who came to meet her in Chongjin reportedly scolded her, saying, "Why did you come? I wrote in the letter telling you not to."

◆ Two brothers and two sons taken away and killed, one after another

She was assigned to live with her family in Sinuiju, in North Pyongan Province, at the northwestern edge of North Korea. She married a man who had also repatriated from Kanagawa Prefecture, and had two sons and a daughter.

Tragedy struck in the 1970s. Her second-oldest brother was taken away by the Ministry of State Security (secret police) and died; the charges against him were never disclosed. Her third-oldest brother, who voiced discontent over this, was also taken away and died in prison. Then, in the 1980s her eldest son, and in the 1990s her second son, were taken away and died. She said the bodies of her brothers and sons were never returned to the family, even for burial. Despairing of any future in North Korea, in 1997 she crossed the Yalu River into China and successfully made her way to South Korea.

◆ A rare moment when the gentle Park showed emotion

Park always smiled, and her manner and bearing were extremely gentle. This writer conducted four long interviews with her starting in 2018, and even when speaking of the painful experience of losing four family members — taken away and killed — she never openly showed sadness or anger. She spoke slowly and calmly, as though taking the facts out one by one from a box of memories.

In late June, I visited her home in Seoul with a copy of Testimony: North Korean Repatriates (Shueisha), which included her story. Delighted that the book was finished, Park began reading her own profile page. When she reached the line "Two brothers and two sons were taken away and died," she broke down in tears and said, for the first time showing emotion, "We hadn't done anything wrong..."

◆ A life buffeted by history and politics

Looking back over my interview notes on the late Park's story, I find myself thinking once again of the many injustices that befell this family of ethnic Koreans from Japan. The atomic bomb damage the family suffered in Hiroshima, and the siblings' earnest hope of receiving the higher education in North Korea that had been largely out of reach for them in Japan, led to their repatriation. The family was then scattered across Japan, South Korea, and North Korea. And on top of that came the political killings the family suffered in North Korea.

Park herself bore countless burdens that were entirely beyond her control — a life buffeted by politics and by the times. May she rest in peace.

■＜Atomic Bomb Survivors Who Went to N. Korea＞"My Brother Suffered for Life": Testimony of N. Korean Defector Park Young-sook

■What happened to the 93,000 Zainichi Koreans who returned to North Korea?

The Kim Jong-un regime has been strongly pushing a "cashless" policy since the start of this year. As part of this drive, electronic payment equipment has been introduced at state-run stores and elsewhere, but in provincial cities, frequent power outages mean payment cards often cannot be used properly, according to a reporting partner in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province, in late July. (HONG Mari / KANG Jiwon)

◆ Heat and Humidity Short-Circuit Payment Terminals

In an article this past March, ASIAPRESS reported that North Korean authorities had, starting in March, banned the use of cash in principle for state-run commercial facilities and transactions between enterprises, forcibly pushing a shift to electronic payment. The policy called for nationwide adoption "all the way down to the military and rural areas," but five months later, what does reality look like?

The reporting partner recently reported on the state of electronic payments in Hoeryong as follows:

"On July 23, the electronic payment terminal in Osandeok-dong broke down after short-circuiting, and it seems payment by Narae Card won't be possible there for the time being. At first, the authorities suspected arson, and the National Intelligence Agency (the secret police, formerly the Ministry of State Security) and the Ministry of Social Security investigated, but it seems the cause was the heat and high humidity.

They ran an electric fan to cool the machine down, but in a small city like this, there aren't many card users, and since the equipment isn't properly maintained, problems like this happen often, I think."

※ Narae Card: A card first issued by the Foreign Trade Bank of Korea in 2010

◆ "In the Cities, Code-Based Payments Are Advancing, But..."

Behind all this lies the power shortage. Multiple ASIAPRESS reporting partners reported in a June survey that in the northern region, electricity still comes on for only about two to three hours a day.

As for the electricity needed to run electronic payment systems, the Kim Jong-un regime has demanded that "commercial facilities solve the problem themselves." But the only measures available have been things like diverting power that was previously supplied first to state-run factories over to state-run stores during peak usage hours, or having facilities install solar panels.

Meanwhile, regarding the situation in major cities, the reporting partner said, "In Chongjin, Kimchaek, Kilju, and Hamhung, hardly anyone carries cash anymore — if you don't use a card, people treat you like you're behind the times. Code-based payment is developing there too, and the gap with provincial areas seems to keep growing."

Hoeryong is one of the more populous cities along the Tumen River, which forms the border between North Korea and China. The fact that even Hoeryong is in this state — despite the authorities' policy of eliminating cash use and shifting to electronic payment — is itself evidence that the Kim Jong-un regime has continued to put off investment in local power infrastructure. Other mid-sized cities are presumed to be in a similar situation.

※ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.

■＜Inside N. Korea＞ Order to Prohibit Cash Use in in State-Owned Commercial Facilities and Enterprise Transactions… Cashless Push Intensifies; North Korean Won Continues to Fall

North Korea's secret police agency, the Ministry of State Security, has reportedly been renamed the State Information Bureau. Name changes for security agencies are not uncommon in North Korea, but is this one purely cosmetic? Have its powers and functions changed as well? A reporting partner in Musan County, North Hamgyong Province, shared details of three changes observed in mid-April. (HONG Mari / KANG Jiwon)

◆ Kim Jong-un: "Establish a subdivided, specialized police system"

According to the Korean Central News Agency, on March 23 of this year Kim Jong-un addressed the Supreme People's Assembly (the country's parliament) and stated that "with a view to maintaining public order on a higher level, it is natural and beneficial to establish the (police) system subdividing the field of legal struggle and making it professional," adding that "its establishment will be favourable for fully ensuring mutual ties and collaboration by clearly defining the work demarcation among the law-enforcement organs at home and realizing cooperation with foreign police organizations."

South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS), in a closed-door briefing for lawmakers at the National Assembly Intelligence Committee on April 6, reportedly explained that "the Ministry of State Security has been reorganized into the State Information Bureau, the Ministry of Social Security has been incorporated into the Cabinet, and the introduction of a police system has also been announced," according to South Korean media reports.

While Kim Jong-un's remarks cited above contain no direct reference to the "National Information Bureau," the reorganization of the Ministry of State Security may well be part of the broader initiative to "establish a police system." South Korean media also conveyed the NIS's analysis suggesting this may reflect an intent to move toward becoming a more normalized state.

So have there actually been changes on the ground within the secret police apparatus? A reporting partner in Musan County relayed recently observed developments, including information received from a personal acquaintance who is an information guidance officer.

◆ Staff increases, new independent detention facility established

— What changes have been observed in Musan County since the reorganization into an inf ormation bureau?

"The title 'security guidance officer' [bowi jidowon] has been changed to 'information guidance officer' [jeongbo jidowon]. Also, while each enterprise previously had one assigned security officer, there are now three enterprises that have had two information guidance officers assigned to them."

— What other developments have there been?

"A new detention facility for the information bureau is being built. Until now, the Musan County security department had no detention facility of its own and shared the one belonging to the Safety Agency [Ministry of Social Security / police]. After April 15 [Kim Il-sung's birthday], construction is to begin on a new facility to house all detainees currently held in the Safety Agency's detention center and bring them under the information bureau's management. An escort section [responsible for transferring suspects and detainees] has also reportedly been newly established, to ensure completely separate management from the Safety Agency."

In North Korea, security guidance officers have long been assigned to enterprises, schools, and residential areas to monitor and control residents. The reporting partner noted that information guidance officers now have narrower jurisdictions than before — meaning, in effect, that more officers are being deployed to each location.

The establishment of a separate detention facility — previously shared with the Ministry of Social Security police — along with a new escort section, suggests a clear intent to separate the bureau's mandate and authority from those of ordinary police organs.

A growing number of residents are heading into the mountains to survive through slash-and-burn subsistence farming as a "last resort." Among those making this choice are men in their forties who should be in their prime working years, as well as divorced women and even Korean Workers' Party members. What is driving people into the mountains? The answer lies in sharply reduced cash incomes and runaway inflation. A reporting partner in Hyesan, Ryanggang Province, filed this report in mid-May. (HONG Mari / KANG Jiwon)

◆ White Rice Up 233%, Corn Up 163% in One Year

"Slash-and-burn farmers" (hwajeonmin) are people who leave their homes and go deep into the mountains, clearing land by burning vegetation to grow crops and sustain themselves. This practice has existed on the Korean Peninsula for centuries. In North Korea, it appeared on a large scale during the catastrophic famine of the mid-1990s known as the "Arduous March."

Carrying whatever food they have on hand, these people retreat into the mountains and hole up in makeshift plastic sheeting shelters or temporary dugouts that barely keep out the wind and rain, living entirely off what they can grow or forage. There is no electricity, no running water — a primitive existence cut off from the city. The reporting partner reports that the number of people making this choice has been rising steadily.

"Because it's hard to make ends meet and there's no trade to be done, people go into the mountains to dig up wild vegetables or farm a patch of land," the reporting partner said.
But why has it come to this?

Seizing on the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext, the Kim Jong-un regime imposed severe restrictions on private economic activity, including trade. Cash incomes for urban residents plummeted. On top of that, prices surged dramatically compared to a year earlier — white rice by 233% and corn by 163%, according to ASIAPRESS research. Since wages at state-owned enterprises are fixed, purchasing power has collapsed.

So who exactly is heading into the mountains?

"There are a lot of elderly people, but also widowers, and women who are divorced and supporting their parents. The men tend to be in their forties and older — the kind of age where their hair is going gray. They've probably just given up on life in the city because prices have gone up and there's no way forward. I've heard there are even Party members among them."

◆ Factories Idle, Working-Age People Heading for the Hills

At the same time, the Kim Jong-un regime has tightened its grip on food distribution, placing it under state control. Sales of food in the jangmadang (public markets) have been banned, leaving residents with no way to obtain staple foods other than through the small rations they receive from their state employer and purchases from the state-run food stores known as ryanggok pamsaso.

But reports indicate that an increasing number of enterprises are falling behind on wages and rations — or failing to pay them at all.

"Some enterprises are partially operating, but most aren't making ends meet. Everything is struggling except foreign trade and subcontracting work, and looking around, there's no one who isn't doing subcontracting."

Even where factories want to operate, severe cash shortages make it impossible. As a result, many people are earning income through piecework done at home — known locally as imgagong (subcontracting) — producing wigs, false eyelashes, and similar items from raw materials brought in from China. The finished products are exported to China and have become an important source of foreign currency earnings for North Korea.
In short, the system as designed — where workers receive rations from their workplace and buy any shortfall from the ryanggok pamsaso using their wages — has broken down entirely. The state does provide small amounts of food free of charge through local neighborhood offices to so-called jeolyangseidae — households that have completely run out of food and money — but only those with no able-bodied workers qualify.

When the reporting partner says that "widowers and women supporting parents after a divorce have gone into the mountains," this reflects the reality that households with only one working-age adult, who must report to a job that provides neither adequate wages nor adequate food rations, are left with no viable way to survive in the city — and so they leave.

North Korean authorities have reportedly relaxed visa invitation requirements significantly for Chinese entrepreneurs visiting for trade and investment purposes. Free accommodation, extended stay periods, and other incentives are being offered to encourage visits, and a rush of Chinese business travelers to North Korea has begun. A source in Jilin Province with expertise in China-North Korea trade reported this in late April. (KANG Ji-won)

◆Stay Period Extended from One Week to One Month

The Chinese trade source reported on developments at the border crossing between Changbai County in Jilin Province and Hyesan in Ryanggang Province.

"North Korean authorities are issuing invitation letters in bulk to Chinese entrepreneurs considering investment. The process is simple — anyone can enter easily just by submitting basic information such as passport details."

Stay periods have also been extended. Previously, even with a business invitation letter, visitors were limited to short stays of around one week. Since April, however, stays of up to one month have become possible.

"Visitors can now inspect factories, mines, and construction sites directly. Tourism itineraries are also more flexible than before — rather than following a fixed route, visitors can pre-book destinations after arrival, with schedules arranged around their inspection plans to include coastal areas, recreational sites, and the like."

Furthermore, entrepreneurs willing to sign investment contracts are reportedly being offered exceptional terms: preferential customs treatment, complimentary hotel stays, and long-term residency rights. The effect has been immediate, with the rush of visitors beginning as soon as April arrived.

"These days, the area in front of the Changbai customs post is so packed with cars of people heading to North Korea that there's nowhere to park," the trade source said, describing the scene.

◆ Interest Concentrated on "Processing Trade" in Seafood and Similar Goods

So what products are drawing the interest of Chinese trading companies and investors? Trade with North Korea is severely restricted under UN Security Council sanctions. Imports require approval from Chinese customs authorities, and U.S. secondary sanctions — penalties targeting organizations and companies that do business with North Korea — are another serious deterrent.

On this point, the source said: "The sector Chinese entrepreneurs are most interested in is seafood. The thinking is that processed seafood — dried or seasoned products — can get around sanctions. Requests are pouring in from parties who want to process the goods inside North Korea and then bring them into China."

Seafood imports from North Korea are banned under UN sanctions, but apparently there is now a possibility that Chinese customs authorities might approve processed products. Chinese businesses also appear to believe that other sanctioned goods, such as minerals, could become importable if they undergo processing inside North Korea.

The North Korean government is actively courting Chinese tourists, with Mount Paektu — the volcanic peak straddling the North Korea–China border — at the center of its strategy. Samjiyon, in Ryanggang Province, serves as the gateway for summit tours and has been a pet project of Kim Jong-un for a decade. Five luxury hotels were completed there at the end of last year. But are Chinese tourists actually coming? What are the resort's real prospects? ASIAPRESS investigated conditions on the ground. (ISHIMARU Jiro / KANG Jiwon)

◆ Kim Jong-un Orders an International Resort Built in a Remote Mountain Village

Samjiyon is a cold, primeval forest town about 47 kilometers from Hyesan, the provincial capital of Ryanggang Province. Beyond potato farming and logging, there is virtually no industry to speak of.

In November 2016, Kim Jong-un ordered the construction of a "world-class international tourism special zone" there. Residents were mobilized en masse to build roads, housing, and hospitals in a crash construction campaign. The town opened in December 2019 and was elevated from county to city status — only for the COVID-19 pandemic to strike a month later, indefinitely delaying the hoped-for influx of Chinese tourists.

Kim Jong-un continued to order improvements nonetheless, and in December 2025, five new resort hotels were completed. State media gave extensive coverage to Kim's visit to the opening ceremony, daughter in tow.

◆ Staff Who Came Expecting Profits Are Leaving

A reporting partner living in Ryanggang Province investigated conditions in Samjiyon and reported back in late April.

— The hotels look impressive in photos. What's the actual situation?

I'm told the hotels were sealed off immediately after Kim Jong-un's on-site inspection last December, because no one visits in winter. After that, hotel specialists were dispatched from Pyongyang to train local staff and take on management roles in preparation for receiving foreign tourists. When they arrived from Pyongyang, they expected Chinese tourists to come flooding in — but guests remain almost nonexistent.

— So the people who came from Pyongyang have nothing to do?

The accommodations and food are poor, and those with connections have gone back to Pyongyang. Children of well-connected officials also came from Pyongyang and other regions, believing the Party's word that tourists would pour in and that there was money to be made. Workers for a Chinese restaurant came too. But Samjiyon really is deep in the mountains. Some have given up and left because no tourists come at all.

◆ Fewer Than 20 Tourists

— How many tourists are actually coming right now?

Other than the families of soldiers or local meritorious workers, I'm told there are fewer than 20 tourists. Higher-ups have said numbers will grow starting in May, when Mount Paektu tourism season begins — but attracting Chinese visitors purely for leisure, rather than business, won't be easy.

— Enormous investment went into developing Samjiyon. Recouping it seems unlikely — maintenance alone must be costly.

Samjiyon's conditions were poor to begin with. There's really nothing there but potatoes. Supplies have to be trucked in from Hyesan, which means fuel costs and overall expenses high.

The operation and management of the hotels are the responsibility of Samjiyon City and the Tourism Management Bureau, but neither has funds. The state has authorized the Tourism Management Bureau to earn foreign currency independently, so they're reportedly looking for ways to raise money through China. They're openly conducting state-sanctioned smuggling through the Cabinet's Ministry of External Economic Affairs and taking on processing and manufacturing contracts from Chinese firms. There are also three subsidiary companies operating in Hyesan to earn foreign currency.

The Kim Jong-un regime's campaign against private economic activity appears to be tightening further. According to a reporting partner in Hyesan, Ryanggang Province, who filed a report in mid-April, authorities have been conducting home searches and confiscating parts from roadside bicycle repair operators. (HONG Mari / KANG Jiwon)

◆ Home Searches and Parts Confiscations

Since the COVID pandemic, the Kim Jong-un regime has imposed strict controls on private economic activity, including trade. Merchants who once operated freely have been brought under the authority of the Sangŏp Kwalliso (Commercial Management Office — a department of the People's Committee that oversees the distribution of consumer goods), and are now required to register both their suppliers and their selling prices.

A reporting partner recently described a new wave of enforcement measures:

"You know how they've been cracking down on private trade? The authorities tried to go after people who were undercutting the Commercial Management Office on bicycle repairs, but it wasn't working. So now they've started labeling the independent repairers as handlers of stolen goods, and people in the repair business are being hauled in. Someone nearby had their home searched and their bicycle parts confiscated."

Bicycle use surged in North Korea during the mass economic collapse of the mid-1990s. With workplaces failing to provide either food rations or wages, people threw themselves into private trade en masse. Demand for bicycles — essential for both travel and hauling goods — spiked sharply, and large quantities of used bicycles were imported from Japan. The rapid spread of bicycles gave rise to a thriving repair trade:
tire patching and parts replacement became a fixture of daily commerce, and independent bicycle repairers became a common sight throughout the country.

In late January, a reporting partner informed ASIAPRESS that authorities had begun cracking down on home-based garment tailoring operations. The current targeting of bicycle repairers appears to be part of the same broader pattern: the Kim Jong-un regime bringing informal private economic activity that had previously slipped through the cracks under formal state control.

As North Korea's spring hunger season — known as the boritgoge, or "barley hump" — gets underway, growing numbers of people, particularly among the most vulnerable, are going without food. In Hyesan, Ryanggang Province, a mother and daughter died after eating wild greens they had gathered to fill their stomachs. In a rural area of North Hamgyong Province, people were found collapsed in the street from malnutrition, causing a local commotion. Authorities, for their part, appear to be leaving most of the response to enterprises and farms. Reporting partners in both regions filed these reports through mid-April. (HONG Mari / KANG Ji-won)

◆ Poisoned by Wild Greens Eaten Out of Desperation — The Hardest Season Begins

In North Korea, the number of households going hungry increases every year starting in late March. Food harvested the previous autumn has been consumed, supply shrinks, prices rise, and even farmers have eaten through their own reserves. This period of spring scarcity, called the boritgoge, leaves countless people struggling with hunger until the potato and barley harvest around June and the corn harvest in August and September.

Reporting Partner A, based in Hyesan, described a heartbreaking incident that occurred in late March:

"On March 23rd, a mother and daughter died. They had bought wild greens at the market late at night, when the price drops, to make a meal of greens and grain in the morning. They got stomach pains and went to the hospital, but died there. In Hyegang-dong, an elderly person also bought and ate wild greens being sold at the market and died from vomiting and diarrhea."

In both cases, it appears that poisonous plants had been mixed in with the wild greens. Reporting Partner A continued:

"Poor people have nothing to eat except boiled corn flour and wild greens. Wild greens are cheap — 1,000 won per kilogram — so everyone is filling up on those."

◆ Inflation of 100–150% Since the Start of the Year

North Korea has been experiencing severe inflation. According to price surveys conducted by ASIAPRESS, as of May 1st, one kilogram of white rice costs 34,000 won (0.44 USD), and one kilogram of corn costs 9,000 won (0.12 USD). Compared to the beginning of the year, white rice has risen by 106% and corn by 150%. Meanwhile, the monthly wages of ordinary workers amount to only around 35,000–50,000 won (0.46-0.65 USD), making it clear why cheap wild greens have become a lifeline.

※ 10,000 North Korean won ＝ 0.13USD
Authorities have reportedly begun inspecting wild greens before they go on sale to prevent toxic varieties from circulating. But as Reporting Partner A put it: "The number of people selling them on the sly to avoid inspections is increasing, and even wild greens are getting more expensive and harder to buy. The crackdown itself makes sense given that people are dying, but it's not helping anyone."

Donations to state "funds" are being actively encouraged in North Korea. The Kim Jong-un regime imposed tight controls on private economic activity in the wake of the COVID pandemic. Recently, however, reports indicate that the regime is now openly praising donju (the newly wealthy class) for donating large sums — earned through illegal economic activity — to the state. Moreover, donors reportedly receive a certificate that effectively serves as a pardon for their illicit conduct. What lies behind this apparent contradiction? Reporting partners in Musan County, North Hamgyong Province, and Hyesan, Ryanggang Province filed these reports in late April. (HONG Mari / KANG Ji-won)

◆ The Purpose of Donations: "Cultivating a Culture of Social Virtue Toward Heroes"

North Korea's state media frequently references the "Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il Fund," alongside other funds such as the "Education Support Fund," the "Public Health Insurance Fund," and the "Coal Miners Support Fund." April 25 marked the Day of the Sun Army (Chosŏn People's Revolutionary Army founding anniversary). According to multiple reporting partners, the occasion has been used as a catalyst to encourage donations to the Korean People's Army through these funds.

Reporting Partner A, based in Musan, relayed the following:

"Party organizations have issued instructions telling party members and workers to voluntarily carry out support activities in order to build a memorial hall in Pyongyang for soldiers who died abroad — meaning those killed in action during the deployment to Russia."

"Support activities" refers to the practice of enterprises and inminban (neighborhood units) providing pork, grain, and other goods to military units or major construction sites. Conducted under the pretext of supplying chronically under-resourced military and construction operations, this form of semi-compulsory contribution has long been a feature of North Korean life.Reporting Partner A also noted the continuation of existing practices: "Support of goods and food for soldiers and the families of those killed in action is being carried out without fixed deadlines or defined content." He then described a newer development:

"Some people are now paying in cash through the funds. Those who donate receive a certificate from their party organization."

The certificate reportedly specifies who donated, to which fund, and how much. Regarding the purpose of the system, Reporting Partner A explained: "What the party is asking for isn't donations to cover a budget shortfall — it's about cultivating a culture of social virtue toward the heroes and soldiers who gave their lives for the country. Party members are being instructed to take the lead in spreading this spirit throughout society."

◆ In Hyesan, More Than Ten People Donated Between $1,000 and $5,000

In Hyesan as well, many residents reportedly took part in support activities around the Army founding anniversary. Reporting Partner B, based in Hyesan, added: "I've heard that more than ten people have donated to the funds and received certificates," and provided the following details:

"Most of the donors are donju who work as sales managers for enterprise output. They contribute whenever something comes up for the country. The head of pharmaceutical management at the city hospital, a worker in the robo-materials management department at the steel factory, a staff member in the import-export division of the trade bureau, and the director of an electronics technical services center all donated. There were also a few restaurant managers, drivers from commercial management office transport units, and some ordinary citizens."

"The amounts donated ranged from $1,000 to $5,000 (USD), contributed to funds including the Education Support Fund, the Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il Fund, and the Fatherland Defense Fund, in exchange for certificates. Lately, the atmosphere is one where everyone wants to get their hands on at least one certificate."

※ Robo-materials (로보물자): Goods such as food, liquor, and cigarettes distributed by the state to workers as additional compensation beyond standard rations or wages.
※ The Fatherland Defense Fund could not be confirmed in state media reports.

How could any individual have accumulated such large sums in the first place?