A recent graduate of Kim Il Sung University has mysteriously disappeared in North Korea’s Kujang county, sparking widespread rumors among local residents. In response, the local state security department has launched a crackdown to quell the speculation, which includes claims that the graduate was kidnapped by security agents.
According to a source in North Pyongan province recently, the person who disappeared recently was a young man who had graduated from the law department of Kim Il Sung University, having entered the school on a recommendation after completing his military service. He dreamed of becoming a public prosecutor, but his dream came to nothing after his family was “revolutionized” when his parents divorced and remarried.
Upon returning to his hometown in Kujang county after graduating from college, he was proud of being a graduate of Kim Il Sung University and believed that he would be appointed a party official one day.
But no one would even look at him, and he ended up doing odd jobs here and there while pulling a handcart to earn money, which made him bitter.
In fact, he openly complained about his circumstances, saying things like, “I gave my youth to the nation by doing my military service and graduating from the best university, but what use was it?” and “If you don’t have money or power, you’re as good as dead.” He did not hesitate to criticize the state.
People in Kujang county felt sorry for him when they saw him pulling a handcart and sympathized with his suffering because of his parents’ quarrel.
When the young man suddenly disappeared last month after appearing every day, people wondered about his whereabouts.
A rumor soon spread that a local resident had gone to a well one quiet evening to fetch water and witnessed security guards arresting the young man. This immediately sparked another rumor, that the security agents had arrested the young man because he had habitually made political statements critical of the Workers’ Party and the state and had damaged the prestige of Kim Il Sung University.
As the disappearance has caused public uncertainty and fear, the Kujang county’s state security department distributed a circular in the young man’s neighborhood watch unit and nearby neighborhoods, instructing local residents to “refrain from rumors and speculation and not to spread unnecessary rumors.”
The source said local residents find the matter even more suspicious because the county’s state security department moved so quickly to quell rumors when the young man’s whereabouts remained a mystery.
“In the past, whenever someone was arrested or something happened, some information would leak out from security agents or the person’s family so the public would know, but in this case, even the state security department has remained tight-lipped. No one knows anything, and the public feels even more insecure as a result,” the source said.
The Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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September 19, 2024 at 04:24AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)