North Korea on ALERT: Paranoid Kim swaps border guards every 30 minutes in new crackdown
NORTH Korea’s paranoid dictator Kim Jong-un has begun rotating his border guards every 30 minutes in a desperate new crackdown on defectors and smugglers.
By JOEY MILLAR
Express.co.uk
Wed, Feb 21, 2018
North Korea is bordered in the north by China and Russia – historical allies with whom relations have nonetheless been growing increasingly chilly due to Kim Jong-un’s volatility.
With defections to China rocketing throughout Kim’s reign, the regime is now cracking down on vulnerable spots along the border with China.
The two states are divided by the Tumen River, the most popular spot for northern defectors, along with the Yalu River and Paektu Mountain.
And sources within North Korea have revealed security has been ramped up massively in recent weeks.
One source told Radio Free Asia, guards were now being rotated from their position every 30 minutes – a huge increase in frequency designed to crack down on soldier defections and reduce complacency.
The source, who spoke to RFA under the condition of anonymity, said: “In Hoeryong city and Onsong county, guards are now being changed at their posts every 30 minutes.
“Previously, border guards were rotated every two and a half hours but the time they spend at their posts has now been drastically shortened.
North Korea is bordered in the north by China and Russia – historical allies with whom relations have nonetheless been growing increasingly chilly due to Kim Jong-un’s volatility.
With defections to China rocketing throughout Kim’s reign, the regime is now cracking down on vulnerable spots along the border with China.
The two states are divided by the Tumen River, the most popular spot for northern defectors, along with the Yalu River and Paektu Mountain.
And sources within North Korea have revealed security has been ramped up massively in recent weeks.
One source told Radio Free Asia, guards were now being rotated from their position every 30 minutes – a huge increase in frequency designed to crack down on soldier defections and reduce complacency.
The source, who spoke to RFA under the condition of anonymity, said: “In Hoeryong city and Onsong county, guards are now being changed at their posts every 30 minutes.
“Previously, border guards were rotated every two and a half hours but the time they spend at their posts has now been drastically shortened.
“It is unclear whether this new policy for border guards is only being applied locally or all along the border, but the rules for guards on duty at assigned posts are usually the same in all the border areas.”
Another source told RFA the northern border with China was now “completely closed”.
He said after failing to stem the growing stream of defections into China, North Korea was now doubling down on its efforts to seal off the hermit state.
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