Reuters
North Korean quarantine enforcers are using their authority during coronavirus prevention inspections to extract bribes and food out of citizens struggling to survive under an economy devastated by the pandemic, sources in the country told RFA.
With orders from the central government to shore up defenses against newer strains of the virus, the inspection teams make their rounds but find violations wherever possible to force the residents to serve them meals or pay fines, which they then pocket.
Under normal circumstances, this type of corruption is business as usual in North Korea. North Koreans engaging in illegal activities like smuggling, watching foreign media, or making illegal phone calls routinely pay off authorities to look the other way.