| More than usual, they mean... |
The North Korean regime is extorting money from ordinary people as hopes fade of achieving the propaganda goal of becoming a "powerful and prosperous nation" by 2012, a source claimed Thursday.
The source, who is familiar with North Korean affairs, said, "Officials from the Workers Party's propaganda department are extorting money from people in the markets after lecturing them on the need to build a prosperous nation."
"The regime used to urge people to donate money in every crucial situation, including construction of power stations, but it's now resorting to plain extortion by simply hectoring people to cough up," the source added.
At these lectures, officials act like phony auctioneers by citing examples of donations in other regions or by making it look as if some people in the audience were donating money voluntarily, when in fact party officials had told them in advance to do so.
According to the source, officials in North Hwanghae Province said people who were impressed by the North Korean artillery shelling of a South Korean island -- apparently referring to Yeonpyeong Island -- donated money to the project. Officials in Chongjin extorted donations by saying those who donate money will not have to explain how they made it.
The state-run media, meanwhile, are full of stories that emphasize a spirit of sacrifice. In a story dated Aug. 3, the Rodong Sinmun daily praised "Song-hee," a female character in a play titled "We'll Remember Today," which leader Kim Jong-il reportedly called a masterpiece. The daily said, "She gave rice she was going to cook for herself to an engineer at a power station building site. She starved to death, clasping a basket full of wild plants. She trusted the fatherland and sacrificed her life for it."
| Nork equivalent of a chick-flick... |
But apparently the effect of the measures is merely to increase resentment. "People are saying, Stop sponging off us. We don't want a powerful and prosperous nation,'" the source said. |