hankyoreh

Clashes between locals and the authorities broke out in the North Korean city of Hoeryong (Hoeryeong) in September and again in early November, according to a November 29 report in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, which said the clashes related to regulations placed by authorities on a local market. The melee ended with one person dead and twenty arrested.

According to the report, the conflict began when authorities imposed stronger regulations about the operating hours and after-hours transactions at "Nammun Market" in this important border city in North Hamgyong province.

During the confrontation that took place in September, one woman died after being struck by a market official. In the second clash, in early November, 18 people were arrested after dozens of locals showed up at the market management office to protest the new regulations. The report said that two people were arrested later for allegedly playing leading roles in the protests and were taken away by North Korea's public security agency.

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