All Year-End Events Cancelled in NK
In the afternoon of Dec. 22, our office received another report from our local LFNKR staff member in North Korea. The authorities in that country are cracking down and tracking all cellular phone signals originating from made-in-China cell phones being used in North Korea. Thus, the conversation between the local staff member and our office was necessarily much shorter than usual.
According to that member’s most recent report, the head of the Labor Party has canceled the big annual event planned for Dec. 24 to celebrate the birthday of Kim Jong-suk, the mother of Kim Jong-il. All other related events have also been cancelled.
The government has been increasingly tightening the alert, issuing orders one after another. Although the markets are open, the drinking of alcohol is now prohibited until the end of the mourning period is announced. Meanwhile, the People’s Army remains on alert under the current martial law.