Hyesan authorities have recently intensified their crackdown on items exported through so-called state smuggling. The authorities are aiming to stop items from secretly exiting the country without state permission.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK recently that “several kinds of medicinal herbs have been exported in large quantities from Hyesan through state smuggling recently, but trading companies are frustrated because crackdowns have intensified several-fold compared to the past.”
According to the source, some trading companies sneak precious metals into about one in ten shipments of medicinal herbs smuggled out of the country at the state’s behest. This is because if they sneak metals into the herb shipments, they can make a bit more profit since they need not pay for separate waku, or trade permits.
Medicinal herbs are state smuggling items that require relatively cheap waku, while metals require more expensive waku. This is to say, trading companies employ the gimmick of secretly exporting metals while paying only for the herb waku, boosting their profits.
However, while enforcement on state smuggling was fairly lax as recently as mid-June, police and security agents have recently been going around storage places for smuggled exports to check whether other items are hidden in the shipments, inspecting the bags with jjikjjigi or poking them with metal rods.
A jjikjjigi is a kind of metal detector that emits a particular sound when it touches metal. Such devices are commonly used in customs houses where official trade is usually conducted, but they have recently been used to inspect state-led smuggling shipments, too. Essentially, the state is cracking down hard to stop trading companies from mixing unlicensed exports into their state-sanctioned smuggling.
Trade officials collude with smugglers to evade inspections
In particular, inspections on state smuggling items have intensified even more in Hyesan recently, perhaps because the Ministry of State Security probed the illegal smuggling of used cars.
“The authorities now conduct strict inspections of items to be exported through state smuggling, leaving not even an eye of a needle unchecked,” the source said. “Exporters move at least 5 or 10 tons of medicinal herbs at a time, but with the authorities checking those huge shipments in full, companies have no room to employ their tricks.
“Trading companies engage in state smuggling, but besides the cost of the waku, they have to pay off police officers and security agents, and the Chinese side sometimes doesn’t pay the agreed price, so it isn’t easy to turn a profit,” he added.
Some trade officials reportedly complain that they “don’t know who they’re doing this for,” that they “can’t do it any longer,” and that they wish to get out of state smuggling “that earns money only for the state or the Chinese.”
In response, some trading officials appear to be colluding with private individuals to open private smuggling paths, the source said.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.
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July 15, 2024 at 08:00AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)