Related News

In previous years, people caught violating travel bans during planting season were typically taken to nearby farms for three to four hours of work before being released

North Korean authorities imposed strict travel controls during last month’s rice-planting mobilization, with numerous people sent to labor camps after being caught traveling without permission.

“From May 11 to 25, a fifteen-day rural mobilization order banned all travel before 2 p.m. State security agents and patrol teams set up checkpoints on major roads, and anyone caught was sent to labor camps,” a source in South Pyongan province told Daily NK on June 5.

North Korean authorities issue rural mobilization orders every year during planting and harvest seasons, requiring all residents to participate. Those who skip work without prior approval face public criticism or punishment.

This year, like others, every person was pressed into service regardless of age, leading to the saying, “If you can lift a spoon, you’re dragged into the fields.” The stringent travel restrictions left streets virtually empty during daylight hours.

In previous years, people caught violating travel bans during planting season were typically taken to nearby farms for three to four hours of work before being released. This year, however, farms quickly reached capacity, forcing authorities to send many violators directly to labor camps.

On May 20, a man in his thirties from Anju was traveling to visit a relative who had suffered a brain hemorrhage when he was stopped and sent to a camp, according to the source.

A woman in her fifties from North Hamgyong province who was visiting relatives in South Pyongan province also ran into trouble. Thinking she might avoid detection as an out-of-province visitor, she went out and was detained and sent to a camp. However, because she had valid travel documents and had properly registered her accommodation, she was released after two days.

Forced mobilizations are ‘incredibly frustrating’

Those without proper travel permits who were caught in South Pyongan province weren’t so fortunate. They spent nearly the full fifteen days doing forced labor in camps and had to pay bribes to guards before being released, the source said.

“Many people traveling for personal reasons were unlucky enough to get caught and faced the double burden of camp life and having to pay money,” the source said. “Every year during rural mobilization, all people must abandon their livelihoods for farm work—it’s incredibly frustrating.”

Even within North Korea, some question whether forcing everyone to abandon their regular work for farming is counterproductive.

“When rural mobilization happens, everyone gets deployed at once, which leads to accumulated fatigue, sloppy work, and lower productivity,” the source explained. “People say it would be more efficient and less exhausting to split into two groups working seven to eight-day rotating shifts.”

Meanwhile,  rice planting is nearly complete across rural areas throughout South Pyongan province, including Anju city, Mundok county, Daedong county, and Pyongwon county.

Source : dailynk