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Date : June 17, 2016
Loyalty Donation Campaign for Ryomyong Street Construction Project
   http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=13940 [857]
Pockets of Pyongyang residents picked clean for Ryomyong Street


The North Korean authorities have launched a "loyalty donation campaign" directed at Pyongyang citizens to obtain funding for the Ryomyong Street construction project in the capital, which is being hailed as another legacy project for Kim Jong Un. Daily NK has learned that households have been pressured to donate 50 USD, leading to complaints among the public.

The campaign comes at a time when the North is struggling under international sanctions and a decline in income from workers dispatched overseas, after two separate groups of restaurant workers escaped to South Korea.

Following the declaration of the 200-Day Battle, propaganda lectures claiming that we must support the construction of Ryomyong Street both physically and philosophically was delivered at state factory lectures and inminban (peoples unit) meetings, a source from Pyongyang told Daily NK on June 9. The lecturers are telling people that Pyongyangs Ryomyong Street is going to be the Generals (Kim Jong Un) gift to scientists for the countrys advancement, and so Pyongyang citizens should lead the way in showing their loyalty. 

The peoples committees at each district office have ordered inminban leaders to collect 50 USD from each household before July for the first Ryomyong Street collection. For families that dont have the money, there are orders for them to participate in on-site construction by July instead, he added.   

As of June 4, some households have already started paying the loyalty funds to their inminban leaders, an additional source in the capital reported. However, criticisms of the state have arisen for its behavior in deliberately creating an atmosphere of competition to squeeze out money from people, likening it to practices in the feudal age.

The growing disparity within North Korea also becomes more apparent during such campaigns. 50 USD in the North is considered substantial to many, as it would buy roughly 80 kilograms of rice at current market prices (5,000 KPW/kilogram, 1 USD trades for 8,000 KPW), However, for cadres it would be considered relatively minor, noted the source.

[Source: DailyNK]

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