SEOUL, Dec. 16 (UPI) — Signs of dissatisfaction with the Kim Jong Un regime may still be surfacing in different parts of North Korea, days after various sources in the country said the state is conducting investigations of anti-Kim leaflets and graffiti.
A source in North Hamgyong Province who spoke anonymously said dozens of 5,000 North Korean won bills were found inscribed with the words, “Let’s punish Kim Jong Un” in the city of Hoeryong in North Hamgyong Province, South Korean news service Daily NK reported Friday.
The bills were found scattered around the city that is also the birthplace of Kim Jong Suk, the North Korean leader’s biological grandmother.
“Earlier in [December] in the Nammun-dong district of Hoeryong City dozens of bills inscribed with phrases like, ‘Overthrow Kim Jong Un,’ and ‘Let’s punish Kim Jong Un’ were found scattered around,” the source said. “The phrases were written in ballpoint pen over the [bill’s] portrait of Kim Il Sung.”
The source also said the bills were found strewn across an area of the city with heavy foot traffic and is therefore likely to have a “great propaganda effect.”
“As soon as the bills were discovered, state security agents were dispatched to collect the material,” the source added.
City-level security officials have classified the incident as highly confidential and have dispatched investigators to conduct handwriting tests to narrow down a list of suspects.
“So far, I haven’t heard of any arrests,” Daily NK’s source said.
Earlier in the week, multiple sources confirmed anti-Kim sentiment is rising in different parts of North Korea.
Leaflets calling for the removal of Kim from power were found in a historic town known for its associations with North Korea’s anti-colonial struggle, and graffiti was found in a busy marketplace in Chongjin, North Hamgyong Province.
