{"id":85890,"date":"2026-07-14T14:28:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/85890\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T14:28:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:28:08","slug":"north-korea-weeding-mobilization-north-korea-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/85890\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea weeding mobilization | North Korea News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"North<\/a>The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers’ Party of Korea, reported on June 13, 2023, that “capabilities and means must be concentrated to complete weeding on time and with quality.” The photo shows Jangkyo Farm in Kangnam county, Pyongyang. Photo: Rodong Sinmun-News1<\/p>\n

North Korean authorities are demanding a fourth round of rural weeding this year, up from the usual three, mobilizing workplaces, neighborhood units and students to finish the work by the end of July 2026. Officials at institutions that fail to meet mobilization quotas face threats of 10 day detention.<\/p>\n

A source in Ryanggang province told Daily NK on Monday that authorities have ordered total mobilization for weeding<\/a> through the end of the month. Workplaces, neighborhood units and students in Hyesan are being sent to corn fields to complete the work, the source said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn past years, three rounds of weeding were usually enough,\u201d the source said. \u201cBut this year, the target is four rounds, and everyone is being pushed into grueling labor.\u201d<\/p>\n

North Korea typically requires three rounds of weeding on farms nationwide. This year, authorities have added a fourth round, citing the need for thorough weed removal and soil management, according to the source. Farm workers alone cannot keep pace with the added workload, the source said.<\/p>\n

Workplaces and neighborhood units are now sending people to the fields on a rotating daily basis. Students at middle schools and high schools are also being mobilized for weeding after finishing morning classes, the source said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a saying that anyone who can walk must pick up a hoe and go to the fields,\u201d the source said. \u201cFarm workers alone can\u2019t meet the four round target, so residents and students keep getting mobilized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fatigue mounts as farm work falls on mobilized workers<\/p>\n

The push for a fourth round of weeding appears to reflect a strong determination among authorities to secure this year\u2019s harvest, the source said. But repeated mobilization, from rice transplanting through weeding<\/a>, has left North Korean people increasingly exhausted.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who have to give up a day\u2019s wages to join the mobilization are frustrated,\u201d the source said. \u201cThey say farm workers may have it hard too, but shouldn\u2019t farming ultimately be the farm workers\u2019 responsibility.\u201d Some go further, the source said, saying they understand the need to help rural areas but feel they will collapse before that happens.<\/p>\n

Mobilized workers repeatedly sent to the fields have also mocked the well-tended private garden plots of farm workers, according to the source. On their way to assigned fields, some remark that the plots look like flower gardens, and ask why the collective fields could not be farmed with the same care.<\/p>\n

Authorities are also cracking down on people who skip the mobilization<\/a>. Police officers, members of North Korea\u2019s Ministry of Social Security, have been visiting workplaces and neighborhood units to check whether mobilized workers actually reported to their assigned fields, the source said. Those confirmed absent are recorded in enforcement files that include their name, date of birth, address, workplace and position, along with a thumbprint acknowledging the violation.<\/p>\n

Authorities are treating absence from the mobilization <\/a>not as a minor lapse but as a failure to comply with a state order, the source said.<\/p>\n

Officials at institutions and enterprises with low mobilization rates are also facing pressure, with police officers threatening to refer them to law enforcement, according to the source.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome police officers are pressuring institution and enterprise officials by threatening 10 days of detention if they send too few people or fail to properly carry out mobilization orders during the total mobilization period,\u201d the source said. \u201cOfficials, afraid of that, try to make up the numbers however they can, so it\u2019s the workers who end up squeezed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read in Korean<\/a><\/p>\n

Reporting from inside North Korea<\/p>\n

\n Daily NK operates networks of sources inside North Korea who document events in real-time and transmit information through secure channels. Unlike reporting based on state media, satellite imagery, or defector accounts from years past, our journalism comes directly from people currently living under the regime. We verify reports through multiple independent sources and cross-reference details before publication.\n <\/p>\n

\n Our sources remain anonymous because contact with foreign media is treated as a capital offense in North Korea \u2014 discovery means imprisonment or execution. This network-based approach allows Daily NK to report on developments other outlets cannot access: market trends, policy implementation, public sentiment, and daily realities that never appear in official narratives.\n <\/p>\n

\n Maintaining these secure communication channels and protecting source identities requires specialized protocols and constant vigilance. Daily NK serves as a bridge between North Koreans and the outside world, documenting what\u2019s happening inside one of the world\u2019s most closed societies.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers’ Party of Korea, reported on June 13, 2023, that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6105,10588,31,9393,11622,6104,5059,4918],"class_list":["post-85890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-korea","tag-farming","tag-hyesan","tag-korea","tag-mobilization","tag-punishment","tag-quotas","tag-ryanggang-province","tag-students"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}