The North Korean authorities have been pushing people in Pyongyang to attend lectures and ideological training sessions ever since last month’s press conference during which detained South Korean missionary Kim
Jong Wook (51) admitted to his “anti-state” crimes.
Anyone suspected of making
contact with South Koreans in China or of having received education concerning Christianity is being brought in for in-depth questioning.
Speaking to Daily NK on the 20th, a source
from the North Korean capital recalled, “There have been People’s Unit meetings every single day since that press
conference. They’ve been saying that the South Chosun puppet faction conducted the unpardonable crime of trying to damage statues of our life itself, the great Suryeong [Kim Il Sung].”
“People are being warned to steer clear of ‘impure ideology.’ They’re saying that if you so much as make contact with a [Christian] church or listen to talk of [Christianity], you will be treated as a ‘counter-revolutionary.’ People are deeply anxious as they’re scared of making a wrong move and getting arrested.”
The source alleged that the authorities are paying close attention to persons returning from China at the end of personal trips, and have already detained a number of people who admitted to visiting a church or meeting a South Korean while outside the country.
“More than thirty people have been taken away to political prison camps. Of these, six were from Nakrang
District and three lived in Sosong District,” the source alleged. “People here believe that the security services have also been dispatched to
China to arrest people engaging in this kind of activity.”
These acts accompany the regime’s umbrella assertion that the South Korean National
Intelligence Service is trying to bring about the collapse of the North Korean regime. The regime’s overly sensitive reaction to flows of outside information, especially but not exclusively of a religious nature, is designed to aid in the process of systemic idolization and the elimination of external threats.
“The Kim Jong Eun regime is heavily reliant on ideological education, and so they are keen to find any excuse to push back against looseness in the system,” the source said. “They called the press
conference with the South Korean missionary because they had realised that enhancing civilian controls by itself was not having the desired effect.”
Kim Jong Wook was arrested by the North Korean authorities in
October last year. He later admitted to “slandering the regime” and taking orders from
the South Korean National Intelligence Service, which denies the claim.
Kim said during a press conference held in Pyongyang on February 27th, “I intended to smash all the statues in North Korea, including the ones on Mansudae Hill. In the place of each statue I planned to
build a big church.”
