The North Korean authorities have turned to focus their attention and resources on development projects in specific regions including the Samjiyon area, where Kim Jong Un has conducted site visits several times this year. They have simultaneously sought to increase surveillance and restrict the movement of locals to prevent problematic incidents from arising.

The first stage of this process has been to send individuals who have come from other locations back to their original areas of residence.

“Party and administrative organs began investigations into everyone’s backgrounds at the beginning of 2018. After analyzing the results, they began to order people in Hyesan and Kim Jong Suk County who were not original residents of the areas to return to their hometowns on December 2,” a source in Ryanggang Province told Daily NK on December 21.

The primary target of the order has been border guards and itinerant merchants who have resettled.

“After completing their military service with the border patrols, many of the border guards in Hyesan and Kim Jong Suk County marry women from the area and want to stay there. In most of the cases, they use their military ties to oversee smuggling operations in conjunction with border posts and reap sizable profits,” a separate source in Ryanggang Province said.

“A comprehensive investigation into ideological trends and crimes in the area revealed that having a background as a border guard was the most important factor in the expansion of illegal activity and ‘anti-socialist lifestyles.'”

He also noted that many defectors from the region also act as brokers between China and North Korea, facilitating cross-border defections and remittances.

However, even in the absence of proof of collusion or perceived illegal activity, many residents have been expelled from the area simply for being from other regions, losing their livelihoods and complicating life for their families.

“Honestly a lot of people experience problems when their turf gets overrun by outsiders, but they also know it’s true that without these people moving goods and money over the border, life would be a lot more difficult for residents and cadres alike,” an additional source in Ryanggang Province noted.