woman in her twenties around 11 p.m. After searching her residence, they handcuffed her and dragged her out by her hair. Her screams echoed through the apartment building, drawing neighbors who witnessed the disturbing scene.
“She was just an ordinary woman who made a living selling clothes with her grandmother,” the source explained. “But she’d caught attention recently because her standard of living had noticeably improved. She started dressing better and bought new furniture and appliances, including a TV.”
In North Korea, sudden financial improvements often trigger suspicion, especially in border regions where many rely on forbidden activities like smuggling and processing remittances. Such lifestyle changes are typically viewed as evidence of illegal earnings.
While North Koreans know that state security agents and their informants closely monitor such changes, many feel compelled to take risks to survive. “The only way to make money here is to do things the government bans,” the source noted. “There’s even a saying that ‘money is found before the barrel of a gun.’ Still, everyone knows to keep a low profile even if they have money.”
Despite advance warning of the inspectors’ arrival, residents couldn’t simply abandon their means of survival. Many took precautions, such as lying low and destroying smuggled goods, but arrests continue. “The woman they took had just improved her lifestyle after one successful venture, yet they still targeted her. There’s fear because it seems no one is safe,” the source said.
Though these inspections aim to maintain regime stability, some argue they achieve the opposite effect. “Yes, they’re trying to protect the country,” the source reflected, “but arbitrarily arresting people only breeds distrust. A fearful population doesn’t strengthen the regime – it gradually weakens it.”
The population has neen fearful for decades, and still the regime survives. But yes, clearly, the more that people feel they can express their fear, the better.
