Multiple sources in Ryanggang province, also known as Yanggang, told RFA that the construction of embankments were ongoing, and that young students – in elementary, middle and high school levels – have been mobilized to collect rocks daily for the past two weeks without any breaks, including Sundays.
Mobilization orders by North Korean authorities are a common practice by local governments to make citizens donate labor to public projects.
“Each student must contribute five stones the size of a soccer ball to the construction site every day,” a source who works in the education sector of Ryanggang province said.
He, like other sources RFA interviewed for this story, requested anonymity for safety reasons.
Students from Yeondu-dong, Yeonpung-dong, and Songbong-dong areas in Wiyeon District of Hyesan City gather every day, from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m., after they finish their morning classes to “collect rocks the size of soccer balls,” a second source in the province told RFA.
The students are required to bring the rocks they collect to the construction site of an embankment in the upper reaches of the Geumsan River, which flows into the Amnok, the source said. Last year, the Geumsan River was also flooded and caused much damage, he said.
