A North Korean policeman directs traffic in Pyongyang in Sept. 2015 | Image: NK News
Nearly every kind of economic activity regularly encountered in North Korea is, strictly speaking, illegal. But as everybody with some exposure to DPRK life knows, private economic activity is a considerable force in the country.
This creates an unusual situation. When police patrol the marketplace, they could justifiably arrest every single person they see.
Of course, they don’t, not just because it wouldn’t make much of a difference, but because the police are often on the payroll of the people whose activities they are supposed to stop.
BRIBERY BEGINS
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Nearly every kind of economic activity regularly encountered in North Korea is, strictly speaking, illegal. But as everybody with some exposure to DPRK life knows, private economic activity is a considerable force in the country.
This creates an unusual situation. When police patrol the marketplace, they could justifiably arrest every single person they see.
Andrei Lankov is a Director at NK News and writes exclusively for the site as one of the world's leading authorities on North Korea. A graduate of Leningrad State University, he attended Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung University from 1984-5 - an experience you can read about here. In addition to his writing, he is also a Professor at Kookmin University.