North Korean despot Kim Jong Un considers himself a god, and by the same token, he has no problem destroying thousands of homes and displacing tens of thousands of people to further his political goals. A South Korean newspaper claims the North Korean government has recently ordered the destruction of around 10,000 homes along a rugged stretch its border with China to try and prevent defectors and smugglers.
The report from the Chosun Ilbo newspaper claims that residents living in homes between the cities of Hyesan and Musan on the Chinese border have been forcibly resettled in villages several miles back back from the rivers that form the frontier between the two countries.
North Korea border crackdown comes as famine is leading to defectors
Apparently a major new road has been built along the North Korean side of the border between the two cities, while all the local residents have been moved out. The newspaper source says that those whose homes were destroyed were encouraged to leave the area and were promised extra food if they cooperated with the government resettling effort
Given the ongoing drought, international aid agencies have been sounding the alarm for some time that North Korea’s grain harvest is likely to be significantly less than what is needed to feed the population of 23 million people. Moreover, more food supplies that were promised by the government have not been provided yet, the source noted.
North Korean experts say these reports jibe with recent reports from defectors that North Korea has made a major effort to beef up security on its border with China in the last few months.
“The situation on the border is not safe and arranged defections out of North Korea are more expensive and less frequent as a result,” an activist assisting defectors in China told The Telegraph.
Other sources note that border patrols have also been increased on the Chinese side of the frontier. Part of the reason is a big move up in the number of violent incidents involving desperate North Koreans trying to get food or other resources from local Chinese citizens.
Also of note, the Chinese police are also telling all locals to not assist North Korean defectors if they manage to get over the border, and authorities have stepped up questioning of anyone who is not a local or who does not have the correct documents, according to Chinese activists in the area.
Government officials recently executed by Kim Jong Un
As reported by ValueWalk, South Korea’s intelligence service has confirmed reports that dozens of North Korean officials have been executed in the last couple of years, including Kim Jong Un’s uncle Jang Song Thaek, who was killed in 2013 after being charged with treason, and just last month, Defense Minister Hyon Yong Chol who was reportedly executed by anti-aircraft gun fire.
Koh Yu-hwan, a politicial expert at Dongguk University, noted recently that Kim is using purges to keep the military old guard off balance as they are the major real threat to his remaining in power.
Intelligence sources say a North Korean cabinet minister was also executed in February for daring to speak against Kim’s plans for a government building designed as a flower named after his grandfather Kim Il Sung.
Other reports say Kim ordered a firing squad for the execution of four senior members of the Unhasu Orchestra in March for suspicions of pl;ans to defect.
