| All the kewl countries are building border walls these days. Except America, which goes to show... |
The wall will keep citizens of the northeastern province of Ryanggang from easily accessing the border, especially near the province’s largest city Hyesan, where the government uncovered a rash of smuggling incidents over the past year, following the January 2020 agreement by Beijing and Pyongyang to shut down the frontier and suspend all trade to stop the spread of the coronavirus.The border closure has, however, devastated the North Korean economy and caused food prices to skyrocket, thereby increasing the incentive for smugglers to bring in food and products from China to make a living.
To stop illegal border crossings, North Korea has held public executions, deployed special forces to the border area, laid landmines to keep its own people from escaping, and ordered soldiers and police to shoot on sight anyone found within a kilometer (0.6 miles) of the border.
I bet they got those ideas from The Mean Tweeter.
"Though the construction of the two-meter-high cement wall with high-voltage wiring on top along the Hyesan border came out of orders…to prevent the virus from coming in from China, the goal is to permanently prevent smuggling and escape from the country," said the second source, who requested anonymity to speak freely.