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."
January 10, 1983
Information About the Population Policy of the DPRK
This document was made possible with support from Kyungnam University
Hauptabteilung II Berlin, 1/10/83
Top Secret Information No.: 31665/11/83
Information
About the Population Policy of the DPRK
According to reliable sources in the Korean capital Pyongyang, since 11/15/82, state organs of the DPRK have been instructed that with immediate effect an unauthorized change of residence of any Korean citizen without permission of the security and state organs is not allowed and punishable with prison time. The security and police organs have been admonished to more intensively conduct checks.
Recently, in Pyongyang and other large cities, the seizure of youth and former students, who were cared for by relatives, has increased. Due to material considerations, a large number of university graduates repeatedly attempted to escape an assignment to the countryside or other parts of the DPRK and have illegally gone into hiding in Pyongyang. It has also become known that residency documents were purchased from members of the police.
Reports suggest that North Korea is cracking down on illegal internal migration, although many young people are still living in Pyongyang without proper permits.
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BStU, MfS, HA II/10, Nr. 63, p. 289. Obtained and translated by Thomas Stock.
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