North Korea police probing handwriting samples after Kim Jong Un's graffiti abuse: Report

The police officials in North Korea have demanded handwriting samples from thousands of Pyongyang residents after graffiti surfaced abusing the country's supreme leader Kim Jong Un. "Kim Jong Un, you son of a b****. The people are starving to death because of you," read the message on the walls of a building in Pyongchon district, reported Daily Mail citing Daily NK. The message reportedly surfaced on December 22. The brazen scrawl comes amid a terrible famine that has been exacerbated by recent flooding and the closure of the northern border with China owing to the COVID outbreak.

The graffiti surfaced while the ruling Workers' Party of Korea held high-level sessions in the capital. As per the report, local officials quickly cleaned the graffiti off the walls, and police are on the lookout for the perpetrator. The authorities have also been visiting door to door in the neighbourhood, collecting handwriting samples and questioning residents about their whereabouts on the day the message appeared. The police are expected to check thousands of CCTV cameras that are installed across the city, the report stated. 

Criticising Kim Jong Un or his regime absolutely prohibited

It should be mentioned here that criticising Kim Jong Un or the regime is absolutely prohibited, and anyone who speaks out against his oppression is subjected to lengthy prison sentences in brutal labour camps. Rebels are also put to death in extreme cases. Protests against Kim are extremely rare and nearly unheard of in Pyongyang, the capital city, where only the elite are permitted to reside, according to Daily Mail. The last instance occurred in March 2018, when a colonel was publicly executed after writing slogans on Pyongyang's April 24 House of Culture. Kim's grandfather and North Korean founder, Kim Il-sung was born on April 24, which is also regarded as 'Day of the Sun" in the country. 

North Korea experiencing acute supply problems due to pandemic

As per the report, the residents of the capital are made to suffer owing to dire food shortages. North Korea has been experiencing acute supply problems since the pandemic forced to block the border with China in January 2020. As it is unable to trade openly with other countries owing to sanctions, North Korea is strongly reliant on its Communist neighbour. According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, North Korea will be short 8,60,000 tonnes of produce this year, which is almost 2.3 months' worth of food for the country's 26 million people, Daily Mail reported.

(Image: AP)