Gathering winter fuel

With cold weather hindering progress in the construction of a concrete wall along the Sino-North Korean border, North Korean authorities are reportedly hanging empty bottles and cans on a recently erected wire mesh fence as a temporary expediency to prevent defections.

A Daily NK source in Yanggang Province said Thursday that the authorities erected a wire mesh fence along the entire border early last month. By mid-month, they had finished hanging empty bottles and cans on the fence. He said the builders erected the temporary fence since people could try to defect while work on the concrete wall slows as the ground freezes due to the cold.

Sounds bad enough, but it gets worse.

Meanwhile, the authorities are facing issues keeping the engineering units deployed to the border supplied with necessities given that their deployment to the border has been longer than expected.

The source said the engineering bureau — which reportedly conducted zero preparations for winter — has asked soldiers from rich families to go on leave and come back with coal, firewood, rice and other food. He said the engineering bureau was relying completely on those soldiers for its winter preparations.

That's right - they are using coal. We're doomed.