North Korean thieves kill two women as crime wave intensifies

Residents of a northern North Korean province are reporting a rise in violent crime, apparently fueled by a worsening economy, hunger and a lack of affordable food, sources told Radio Free Asia.

The recent murder of two young women during a botched robbery in Hyesan, a city on the border with China, has made people in Ryanggang province nervous, they said.

“On the 20th, around 5:00 pm, there was a shocking incident in which two men broke into a house in the Hyesong neighborhood and killed two of the three women living there while trying to rob them.” a resident of the city told the FRG Korean Service on condition of anonymity to speak freely.

The women who lived in the house were 22, 23 and 27 years old, and the two victims were stabbed to death, according to the source.

“The one who escaped was the owner of the house. The robbers pointed a knife at him and told him to give them money. He was able to escape by saying that he was in the attic and pretending to go up to retrieve it, but instead he ran away,” the source said.

Military police officers patrolling the area arrived and arrested the suspects, the source said.

“The trial for the robbery was held the next day in public,” the source said. “Although the arrested men are members of society, they were tried under military law for committing robbery at a time when the internal situation was militarily tense.”

The source said the men were taken away after the trial, so no one knows for sure what will happen to them, but many expect they will be executed by firing squad.

Crime statistics for North Korea are not available, so it is impossible to verify if there has been an uptick. But the source said that the increase in March has been notable and that food and money problems are often the reason.

“After a night’s sleep, you wake up and find out that there was a murder somewhere, and then the next day you find out about a series of robberies somewhere else,” he said.

Another Ryanggang resident said the crime wave extends beyond Hysean, with a friend in nearby Samsu County saying over the phone that a lot of robbery, robbery and murder is happening there, too.

“Murders, break-ins and robberies are particularly frequent this year, which has something to do with worsening food shortages,” the second source said. “Residents blame the authorities for not taking adequate measures to stabilize society (by addressing) food shortages.”

chronic hunger

North Korea has been chronically short of food for decades, but has been able to fill the gaps between supply and demand through imports or international aid. This became impossible during the COVID-19 pandemic when the China-Korea border was closed and all trade with China, the country’s main economic partner, was suspended.

Although cross-border trade has resumed with limited capacity, it has not been enough for the country to fully recover.

People in Hyesan are starving to the point that they are eating soy residue from the tofu-making process, which is normally thought to be a waste product, the second source said.

“You can’t even use (the residue) to make any kind of porridge or broth,” he said. “As hunger becomes more rampant due to food shortages, you hear about more gruesome thefts all the time.”

Hyesan has had a 7:00 p.m. the owner, a street food vendor.

The second source said the three men arrived at the house just before curfew, claiming they were there to buy food. When the vendor opened the door for them, they ran in and stole it.

“They took all the food that was for sale, including noodles, rice, sweets and sweets,” he said.

Authorities are investigating the case, and because the robbery occurred before the saleswoman’s husband got home, they suspect the three thieves are people who would know her schedule, according to the second source.

“The three men were wearing masks, so it is not known if they are soldiers or civilians,” he said.

Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.