This content was first published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now being reprinted with permission.
North Korean people are seen digging up a channel and looking for gold in the raucous video images obtained by Radio Free Asia.
In two districts in the northern county of Hwanghae, Kim Il-hyuk, who lately fled North Korea and settled there, captured the images in April and May 2023. In a scene in Pyoksong township, two men are seen searching for small pieces of gold among the dirt and rocks in the river bed.
In the movie, they are talking in audible terms.
“There are some people who dig for silver these time, ” one said.
“Because the golden price went up, ” said the other.
A man digging a hole in the creek gets closer and closer to his neck as more footage is captured.
Kim explained to RFA Korea that the people were digging for gold to make money off of the “barley hump, ” which occurs in the nation every April and May. Food reserves from the previous yield have run out by this point, but they must last until the following produce, which could take months.
In more film, a gentleman explains that platinum is for 400,000 won per ounce, or more than US$ 1,400 per ounce.
The man claimed from a normal time of digging what he can get. 02 to. 03 grams of golden per day, for about 8,000 conquered, or around$ 1.
Kim explained that crooked authorities are the only ones who will buy gold because it is prohibited in North Korea. In China, they may purchase it for a low price from the locals before selling it for a high price.
“If … it becomes known where and from whom the metal was purchased, the person who sold it was death, ” he said. “So, for health, gold workers can just buy gold to persons with authority and power. ”
Kim claimed to have profited from this type of metal dealing.
“The gold is sold to China and converted into cash, ” he said. “The ( government ) also needs money, so it ’s a cycle. The Party is engaged in large-scale investing. ”
Often workers want to cut out the middleman and promote the gold to Chinese investors themselves, but this is difficult, so the majority of miners choose to sell to regulators on the cheap.
In North Korea, there is no freedom of movement. So, it is not easy to go to the border carrying gold, ” he said.
Strict handles
Just certain government-affiliated companies are allowed to trade silver, and those who are caught selling personally are imprisoned, said Lee Hyunseung, a Northern Asian inmate who resettled in the United States.
Lee had been part of the elite, the top 1 % of North Korea in his family ’s lifestyle.
“If you bring metal to the stores, they may change it for goods, ” he said. The North Korean government determines the value. ”
Nevertheless, Lee explained that there are instances where the State Security Department or celebration employees will accept bribes because individual sales of collected gold have become common in North Korea.
The state “takes all the metal that the government handles.” This is not a transmission method, ” he said. People collect and sell metal to satisfy their needs, according to the statement. They frequently turn a blind eye in silver mines and gold pan locations. ”
Like everywhere else, golden prices in North Korea fluctuate depending on the state of the global economy or regional economic problems.
According to Kim, the price of 1 ounce of silver dropped to 60,000 gained ($ 7. 50 ) during the coronavirus pandemic. Silver was n’t circulating as often at the time, so it became difficult to find buyers.
According to Forbes, the global price of gold as of Wednesday night was$ 2,472 per gram.
“Since the coronavirus pandemic, metal sales have been banned and the price of gold itself has also fallen entirely, ” said Kim. “With no flow, there are no customers for gold. Also, because there are no places to buy gold, some people have stopped mining it. ”
But, as North Korean rulers prefer high-quality Foreign jewelry, there is a possibility that the desire and flow of silver obtained in North Korea may increases, ” Lee said.
My friend made a collar out of metal and made it. North Korea’s metal running business is not well developed, and people who have just lived in North Korea may suppose, ‘This is good enough, ’” he said.
People stop purchasing jewelry from North Korea later because they discover that the jewelry produced worldwide is much better, such as China. ”
