N. Korea border guard duty loses its appeal as bribes dry up

Attitudes inside North Korea toward serving in the border guard have shifted completely. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, soldiers could collect bribes for turning a blind eye to individual smuggling. Service conditions were relatively good, and the posting was popular.

Since the pandemic, tighter border controls have cut off that smuggling. The border guard is now considered an undesirable posting. A source in Ryanggang province told Daily NK on Thursday that conditions for border guard soldiers stationed in Hyesan have changed “180 degrees” compared with before the pandemic.

Before, the source said, soldiers looked neat and had healthy complexions. Now, the situation is entirely different. According to the source, the border guard was once a preferred posting across social classes.

It drew children of cadres and children of ordinary people alike, and training was less intense than in regular army units. Soldiers could also build a financial foundation through bribes tied to smuggling in the border region. The source added that before the pandemic, many soldiers saved more than 50,000 Chinese yuan, or about $7,380, during their service.

They used the money to buy home appliances such as refrigerators and televisions. The goods were sent home before the soldiers were discharged. Since the pandemic, tighter border controls have shortened the intervals between guard shifts.

Workloads have increased, and soldiers can no longer collect bribes. Some are going hungry, the source said, adding that, as a result, the border guard’s popularity has fallen sharply. Falling rations, rising hunger Soldiers with the 25th Border Guard Brigade, stationed in Hyesan, once ate well.

Before the pandemic, when individual smuggling was widespread, they had rice mixed with other grains at a ratio of seven to three. Every meal came with at least two or three side dishes. At the time, soldiers rotated daily meal duty.

The soldier on duty used money collected from smugglers to buy ingredients. H