North Koreans forced to donate metal for giant Dear Leader statues

North Koreans forced to donate metal for giant Dear Leader statues
(Image credit: Feng Li/Getty Images)

North Koreans in Sinuiju, a border city, claim that they were forced to donate metal to a "loyalty fund" for statues of two of North Korea's deceased leaders.

The statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il were difficult to finance, since North Korea doesn't have an abundant metal supply. Sinuiju residents told Seoul's DailyNK that many residents were forced to purchase their portions of metal from the open market, with traders using Chinese metal supplies.

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Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.