The North Korean authorities confiscate the winter coats bordered by dog fur – considered as a luxury article – civilians and giving them to sub -application soldiers, radio residents Free Asia told residents.
The reasons for this campaign that started last month seem to be twice: providing warm equipment to army staff in the icy winters of North Korea and to prevent civilians from looking at winter military uniforms.
“Social security officers prevented men with dog fur coats in the streets and confiscated them on the spot,” RFA Co told Pyongan province, north of the capital.
“This is the first time they have been doing something like that,” he said. “They say that it is because civilians cannot wear military uniforms.”
In fact, apart from their warmth, the similarity of the coats with military uniforms is one of the reasons why they are popular with civilians, he said.
“He symbolizes authority,” said the resident.
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But few North Koreans can afford it. Only rich can buy specially manufactured coats. Coats lined with high quality fur can cost up to 1 million won (US $ 50), more than annual salary in most jobs awarded by the government, the resident said.
“These are the best winter clothes because the whole inner layer is bordered by skin and dog fur,” he said. “They are expensive and can only be purchased from a specialized clothing manufacturer.”
Fouring chain collapse
The strong soldiers of nearly a million North Korea have been subcontracted chronically for decades.
Since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, which has provided aid in the country, the economy of North Korea has suffered and the military has struggled to equip its own staff.
In principle, North Korean soldiers should receive summer uniforms once a year and winter uniforms every two years, but supplies are erratic.
Things are so disastrous that the soldiers began to demand that soldiers return to their uniforms when they are released, so that they can be given to other soldiers.
The missing soldiers of adequate clothes and soldiers trembling in the cold, it is a bad look so that rich civilians are on the move in their cloak bordered by grilled dog, said the resident.
“Only one out of 50 men has these coats lined with fur in the city of Usan,” he said. “I saw it carried by the merchants who lead from one place to another selling goods and by the husbands of rich women.”
With the men necessary to work for a bite of bread to jobs awarded by the government, most families are really supported by women, who run small businesses. Women who succeed and rich, or who have already been born in wealth, can afford to make follies on an expensive coat for their husband.
Not for the average soldier
In the northwest province of north Pyongan, coats lined with dog fur are now a rarity, a resident told RFA on condition of anonymity.
Civilians “presented themselves by wearing their dog coats, but the authorities began to confiscate them,” he said. “These types of coats are not provided to the average soldier, but to the officers and soldiers stationed at guard posts near the border with South Korea.”
He said that the authorities asked civilians how they can carry such luxury when there are soldiers keeping the front line that shivers in second -hand raised uniforms.
“Soldiers must participate in winter training,” he said, which means that they have to “lie on their belly on a frozen soil, so these dog fur coats are essential to them.”
He said that the agents confiscating the coats told their owners that their clothes would go from military units on the front.
“Some of these men protest against it, but they stand their tongue because they don’t want to be punished for having spoken.”
Translated by Claire S. Lee. Published by Eugene WHHONG and MALCOLM FOSTER.