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Dec 5, 2009
N.Korea orders defectors shot
SEOUL - NORTH Korea has ordered its border guards to open fire on anyone who crosses its border without permission, in what could be an attempt to thwart defections by people disgruntled over its recent currency reform, a news report said on Saturday. The National Defense Commission - the top government body headed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il - recently instructed soldiers to kill unauthorised border crossers on the spot, South Korea's mass-circulation Chosun Ilbo newspaper said, citing unidentified sources inside the North. It said the order could be an attempt by the communist government to stop members of North Korea's middle class who are angry over suddenly being deprived of their money from leaving the country. Officials at South Korea's spy agency were not immediately available for comment on Saturday. Thousands of North Koreans have defected to South Korea in recent years, most of them via China. Last year, about 2,800 North Koreans arrived in the South, up from about 2,500 in 2007. The reported move came amid signs of growing anger among North Korean citizens left with hoards of worthless bills. On Monday, the government informed citizens and foreign embassies that it would redenominate the national currency, the won. But it limited the maximum amount of old bills that could be converted into new ones, telling residents to deposit the rest in government-run banks, according to media reports and diplomats. -- AP
Home > Breaking News > Asia > Story
Dec 5, 2009
N.Korea orders defectors shot
SEOUL - NORTH Korea has ordered its border guards to open fire on anyone who crosses its border without permission, in what could be an attempt to thwart defections by people disgruntled over its recent currency reform, a news report said on Saturday. The National Defense Commission - the top government body headed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il - recently instructed soldiers to kill unauthorised border crossers on the spot, South Korea's mass-circulation Chosun Ilbo newspaper said, citing unidentified sources inside the North. It said the order could be an attempt by the communist government to stop members of North Korea's middle class who are angry over suddenly being deprived of their money from leaving the country. Officials at South Korea's spy agency were not immediately available for comment on Saturday. Thousands of North Koreans have defected to South Korea in recent years, most of them via China. Last year, about 2,800 North Koreans arrived in the South, up from about 2,500 in 2007. The reported move came amid signs of growing anger among North Korean citizens left with hoards of worthless bills. On Monday, the government informed citizens and foreign embassies that it would redenominate the national currency, the won. But it limited the maximum amount of old bills that could be converted into new ones, telling residents to deposit the rest in government-run banks, according to media reports and diplomats. -- AP
