It has been confirmed that the North Korean authorities issued a decree earlier this month stating that persons found to have communicated with persons outside North Korea are to be sent to a reeducation camp and their families exiled.
The policy was previously reported at the beginning of April by The Daily NK.
A source from Yangkang Province was able to confirm it on April 11th. He said, “In a people’s unit meeting on April 8th they stated ‘If a person is caught making a phone call to South Chosun or China, that person will be sent to a reeducation camp and his/her family exiled without exception. The time for ideological education has already passed. Those who commit hostile acts by communicating secretly with traitors will be severely punished.'”
The source also confirmed that families have already fallen victim to the decree; at 10AM on April 9th, the family of Kang, a family within the 18th peopleβs unit in the Hyekang-dong of Hyesan was deported to Naepo-ri in Poongsan (an inaccessible area in the heart of Yangkang Province).
Though not shocked by the measure itself, people are apparently surprised that it is being conducted now, just days before the anniversary of Kim Il Sungβs birth, and are closely watching how it proceeds. The source commented, “People just find the idea of being exiled just before April 15th odd.”
This is because Kim Il Sungβs birthday has traditionally signaled an amnesty for some prisoners. On this, the source said, “The ‘Day of the Sun’, which used to bring about the release of prisoners, has become the ‘Day of the Sun’ where they arrest people. In the past, even if there were deported families they were sent away after April 15th; however, such considerations have disappeared. Legal punishments have also become more severe.β
According to the source, the measure is rumored to be down to Kim Jong Eun. Either way, he said, the atmosphere has gone quite sour there, “Now the Day of the Sun is not a day to be anticipated. People need to be a bit cautious when the atmosphere is bloody.β
He added, βThe politics of violence has become a reign of terror.”
On the other hand, however, the North Korean authorities have, as normal, also issued the decree pardoning a number of prisoners in honor of the Day of the Sun. The amnesty is always advertized as showing Kim Jong Ilβs magnanimity and deep consideration for the peopleβs wellbeing, and this year is no different.
