FILE PHOTO: Military guard post along the Yalu River in North Pyongan Province. (Daily NK)Several military couriers tasked with carrying classified documents received dishonorable discharges when an intensive inspection of train use at the end of last year revealed they used their position to ship merchants’ cargo for money, Daily NK belatedly learned.
According to a Daily NK source in North Korea, the military couriers—who worked directly for the General Staff Department—were caught colluding with merchants in and around Hyesan, Ryanggang province, shipping their cargo as they traveled back and forth between Hyesan and Pyongyang in exchange for cash.
Merchants believe shipping goods through military couriers is advantageous for several reasons—it’s cheaper than going through train crew, and the couriers face fewer inspections.
“Most military couriers are single, so they ask for less than the train crew, and because they’re soldiers, their things get inspected less, so merchants especially like dealing with them,” the source said.
Military couriers usually carry out missions in teams of two, traveling by train along major routes like Pyongyang-Hyesan and Pyongyang-Sinuiju.
Military police checking soldiers on trains simply glance at couriers’ ID papers without really inspecting their luggage. This is because couriers have the specialized duty of carrying classified documents, so military police feel they needn’t examine them thoroughly.
The couriers use this oversight to their financial advantage. The system lends itself to corruption, with military couriers sharing with merchants which trains they’ll use—and when—and shipping their cargo.
Repeated deals lead to harsh punishment
The latest incident became a bigger deal because the military couriers had repeatedly made deals with merchants. Using their position to profit personally was bad enough, and authorities took an even dimmer view because it wasn’t a one-off but continuous practice.
Ultimately, the military couriers were harshly punished with dishonorable discharges following investigations by military prosecutors and the army’s security department. A dishonorable discharge is essentially a political death sentence because it blocks the discharged individual from joining the ruling party, disadvantages them in job placement, and leads to social ostracism.
“Onboard inspections of military couriers, which used to be relaxed, will likely intensify as a result of this incident,” the source said.
“In North Korea, it’s a time-honored practice for people who work with the railroad to take money for performing errands or transporting cargo large and small,” the source said. “Because this problem isn’t limited to military couriers, it will be difficult to root out this corrupt practice completely.”