North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has issued a secret order for local authorities to prevent suicides after data showed an increase in people taking their own lives this year, government officials told Radio Free Asia.
Although the RFA was unable to confirm the North Korean account, the South Korean National Intelligence Service reported in late May that suicides were up about 40% compared to last year.
“There are many factors of internal unrest in North Korea due to the difficulties of the people,” the spy agency said, adding that violent crime is also rising as people struggle to make ends meet.
Kim officially defined suicide as an “act of treason against socialism” and ordered local governments to take preventive measures.
The confidential suicide prevention order was delivered at emergency meetings in each province of party committee leaders at the provincial, city and county levels, an official from the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told the FRG Korean Service on condition anonymous for security reasons.
“Our meeting was held at the Provincial Party Committee Building located in Pohang District, Chongjin City,” he said. “The large number of suicide cases in the province were revealed and some officials… could not hide their expressions of anxiety.”
Criticism of the social system
Statistics handed over at the North Hamgyong meeting showed there were 35 suicide cases this year in Chongjin and nearby Kyongsong county alone, the official said, adding that most cases involved whole people. families ending their lives together.
“(The attendees) were shocked by the Dissemination of suicide notes that criticized the country and the social system.,” he said.
At the meeting in Ryanggang province, attendees were told that suicide has had a greater social impact than starvation, an official told RFA on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
“Despite the suicide prevention policy ratified by the Secretary General, the officials could not find a suitable solution,” he said. “Most of the suicides were caused by extreme poverty and starvation, so no one can find a countermeasure right now.”
The meeting described in detail several shocking cases, according to the official.
“In Hyesan City, a 10-year-old boy lived with his grandmother after his parents starved to death, but they killed themselves by eating rat poison,” he said. “He brought great sadness to all who saw him.”
The official described other shocking cases revealed at the meeting, including a couple in their 60s who hung themselves from a tree in the mountains, and a family of four who, after eating their last family meal together, ingested potassium cyanide, a highly toxic chemical. It is often used in gold mining.
“Family suicide is a final act of defiance against a hopeless system,” he said.
Kim Jong Un’s order stressed that local government officials must take responsibility for preventing suicides in their jurisdictions.
“It was emphasized that the responsible officials will be jointly accountable, because ‘suicide is a clear social challenge and treason against the homeland.'”
Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
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