They haven't been able to invade Pyongyang, however, as once they are found to belong to a violent organization or fighting others in groups, they are evicted out of the capital along with their families. Gangs are mostly expelled to mine areas in Hamgyong provinces, though some have managed to infiltrate into Hamhung and other cities. While Pyongyang became quiet, bands of thugs have sprung up in other cities like mushrooms after rain. They have become even more unyielding since the 1990s when serious food shortages set in.

Notorious North Korean bands are assembled in Hamhung and are reputed to be the most cruel in the North in criminal methods and acts. Those making official trips to Hamhung must be fully prepared against them. They not only rob people, but beat them nearly to death and many have allegedly been killed. Thugs line up in front of Hamhung Station when trains arrive and choose as targets of attack those who are well-dressed and who come from other regions. Since they act in groups of twenties, it's difficult to get away once people are entangled with them. Even in broad daylight they steal bags from women or old people. Resistance is countered by violence.

Particular fields are assigned to thugs. Bands of strong thugs handle foreign exchange dealers in front of foreign goods stores. Money is taken away from marketplace venders on a regular basis. The saying in North Korea is "The law is far away, but the fist is close by." They also collude with smugglers in the border area. Those stealing money or goods from pedestrians belong to bands of low-level thugs.

North Korean authorities publicly execute convicted murderers and thieves, but it's beyond their capacity to crack down on thugs. Due to the serious food shortage in recent years, youths have tended to graduate to violent organizations which are rampant in cities such as Sunchon, Chongjin, Nampo, Shinuiju and Anju, as well as Hamhung.

Members wear clothes neater than ordinary people, and prefer donning Japanese-made clothes. They walk along in blue jeans, banned by the party, and insist on growing their hair long, also banned as a capitalist fashion. On the chest, they carry expensive Kim Il-sung badges, worn by party cadres, a symbol of wealth and power. The cigarettes they smoke are expensive foreign brands like Marlboro and Mild Seven.

Their organizations are named after animals or their leaders' nicknames like "The Weasel Family," "The Owl Family" and "The Cockroach Family." Provincial thugs sometimes go on expeditions to Pyongyang, robbing foreigners as well as residents of their money at subway and bus stations and foreign goods stores. The North's public security is much more troublesome than imaged in the South as North Korean society is under stress and its people are desperate.