Reports suggest that North Korea is cracking down on illegal internal migration, although many young people are still living in Pyongyang without proper permits.
November 16, 1982
Information About Some Aspects of the Population Policy in the Capital of the DPRK, Pyongyang
This document was made possible with support from Kyungnam University
Hauptabteilung II Berlin, 11/16/82
Top Secret Information No.: 31599/204/82
Information
About Some Aspects of the Population Policy in the Capital of the DPRK, Pyongyang
Through reliable Korean sources it has been revealed that in the past few months a large-scale expulsion campaign has been carried out by the state organs. It is thought to have affected approx. 200,000 citizens. A similar campaign, on the same scale, is known to have occurred in 1975. The goal of these measures, above all, is to prevent a rapid increase in the population of Pyongyang (currently approx. 1.5 million inhabitants), whose material situation is far better than that of provincial inhabitants. Special permits are required for travel to the DPRK capital and the establishment of permanent residency. Until now, DPRK citizens relocated to Pyongyang for official and other reasons have always tried to bring in relatives and acquaintances after them. Another reason seems to lie in the effort to have a politically reliable population in Pyongyang.
Reasons that were given for expulsion:
- disablement (especially cripples),
- serious illnesses
- age (those no longer in the workforce due to age),
- political misconduct,
- immoral conduct (especially marital infidelity)
- insufficient professional achievements.
Fearing an expulsion, the situation among the population in Pyongyang is therefore said to be tense.
This intelligence was procured unofficially.
Source protection is requested.
North Korea is reportedly expelling illegal residents from Pyongyang and overall seeks to manage the population of the capital so that it is "politically reliable."
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Related Documents
January 10, 1983 | Information About the Population Policy of the DPRK |
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Source
BStU, MfS, HA II/10, Nr. 63, p. 290. Obtained and translated by Thomas Stock.
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