The North Korean authorities carried out various measures to stop defection, but defection wasn't stopped due to bribery, so now the authorities are offering soldiers of the border guard the chance to 'join the party', regardless of whether they received bribes or not.

The military source in Musan in North Hamkyung Province told Open Radio for North Korea in a phone interview on the 22nd, "These days, 'joining the party' meetings are being held to attract soldiers. Even if a soldier assisted a defection by taking a bribe, that soldier can still join the party if he or she reports the defection and catches the defector at the site."

The source also said, "Until today, soldiers who reported defections would get vacations as a reward. However, this is the first time that they are being allowed to 'join the party' as a reward." The source added, "Some soldiers, who couldn't join the party, envy soldiers who got bribes and joined the party."

Also, the source said, "It seems that the North Korean authorities are trying to show that their propaganda is not just empty talk by selecting 1~2 candidates from each troop to join the party, so it  appears to be a planned event by the department of military politics based on the orders of the General Political Bureau."

'Join the party' is part of a North Korean public propaganda campaign in which the authorities grant membership to a party of soldiers or a Shock Brigade who make a great achievement. In these cases, the authorities hold the public assembly of the party right away and accept a soldier to the party, bypassing certain processes and forms.

The intention of the authorities seems to be to raise awareness among the soldiers that they can join the party if they report defections, since they are more interested in money than vacations. Also, it seems that by doing so, the authorities are trying to decrease the number of defections and stop the illegal bribery of soldiers.

Related to this, the source also claimed that the North Korean people are saying that they cannot trust soldiers they have traded with, and it is safer to trade with people who have joined the party.

 

Source: Open Radio for North Korea