SEOUL: Demands by North Korean border guards for a greater share of the profits of smuggling have slowed the movement of commodities across the border with China, causing hardships for North Koreans who earn a living by trafficking in goods, sources said.
Because of tightened security measures put in place over the last year, the fees charged by guards delivering goods across the border have now risen as high as 30 to 40 percent of the smugglers’ profit, sources in the country told RFA’s Korean Service.
“Control at the border is now three to four times stricter than it was before,” said one source living in Hyesan city in Yanggang province, bordering China.
“So people cannot cross the border to meet Chinese traders and exchange goods in person,” RFA’s source said speaking on condition of anonymity.
Items typically smuggled into China from North Korea include copper, scrap metal, and medicinal herbs, with low-priced consumer goods brought into North Korea from China in return.
Because of heightened security, smugglers have increasingly entrusted their goods to guards to convey across the border for a fee, he said.
“We can now make only a small profit because of the high kickbacks they demand,” he said.
