The North Korean authorities have stepped up internal controls and
surveillance in advance of events to mark the death of Kim Jong Il on December
17th. Sources allege that the controls may be more intense than last year, implying that the upcoming anniversary is being used partly
as a pretext upon which to lock down society following the execution of
Jang Sung Taek.
“Things here are very tense because of the Jang Sung Taek execution and what-have-you,
and there is a somewhat higher level of control and surveillance than during
the mourning period last year,” a source from North Hamkyung Province reported
to Daily NK on the 16th. “They recently declared the period of
mourning for General Kim Jong Il, and since that time the atmosphere here has
been pretty tight.”
“With the Jang Sung Taek incident and everything else, people are
feeling extremely tense,” he went on. “Officers from the Ministry of Public
Security are going around the markets and through residential neighborhoods to
get people to observe the mourning period, while the heads of individual
people’s units are keen to get people not to do anything out of the ordinary.”
“Even children are being careful what they say to their friends,” the
source revealed. Families have been reinforcing the need for all of members to
remain vigilant, since parents are concerned that “what mum and dad say at home could
get out, so they order their children to take care what they say and do.”
“A ‘special guard’ order has been handed down to people’s units and
workplaces,” the source went on to note. “Party cadres are always emphasizing that
we must not allow anything to go wrong at this time. We’ve been instructed
not to drink alcohol or gather in large groups, so obviously people are tense.”
“Women’s Union units and students are doing lectures and study sessions
on the achievements of Kim Jong Il,” he went on.
According to the source, the main point being emphasized at gatherings to denounce Jang Sung Taek and those arranged in commemoration of the
anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death is that monolithic rule under Kim Jong Eun
is the only way for the people of North Korea to survive.
People know better than to stretch the rules at such times, sources all agree. “Most
of the time smuggling or making illicit phone calls would lead to a fine or
self-criticism letter, but during the mourning period it can result in a spell
of re-education through labor or ‘revolutionizing’,” the source explained.
