kim jong un kanggye tractor factory
Kim Jong Un on an on-the-spot visit to the Kanggye Tractor Factory in May 2019. (Rodong Sinmun-News1)
For the first time in several years, North Korea’s national police agency is conducting a proper reregistration campaign for government agencies, businesses, and organizations. The COVID-19 lockdown period, which began in January 2020, made it difficult for the Ministry of Social Security to get an accurate picture of the activities of various entities.  “Since Dec. 12, the Pyongyang branch of the Ministry of Social Security has been ordering government agencies, businesses, and organizations in the city to reregister following an order from the ministry’s headquarters,” a source in Pyongyang said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons. According to the source, the Pyongyang branch of the Ministry of Social Security plans to conduct the reregistration campaign until Dec. 22.  The Ministry of Social Security oversees reregistration campaigns directed at government agencies, businesses, and organizations at the end of every year, though local people’s committees handle the on-the-ground surveys and administration work. In Pyongyang, government agencies, businesses, and organizations apply for reregistration through the people’s committee of their local district, and the city’s people’s committee collects all these applications. After the reregistration applications are collected from each area, the documents are shared with the Ministry of Social Security and Cabinet. A WAY FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO EXERT CONTROL The reregistration process allows the North Korean authorities to review whether government agencies, businesses, and organizations have changed their names, how many employees they have, and how they are being managed. The authorities also examine their activities, including analyzing whether they accord with government policy. If issues are found, the authorities may step in to intensify control over how organizations are operated.  “The authorities didn’t conduct a proper yearly reregistration effort during the past four years of the COVID-19 lockdown,” the source said. “As a result, organizations are putting even more effort into the reregistration campaign this year because the authorities are carrying out detailed surveys of their work.”  Since there are so many reregistration applications to review, people’s committees have temporarily mobilized clerical staff to complete administrative procedures by the deadline. “People’s committees in Pyongyang are pressing to complete the reregistration campaign quickly by calling in women with good print handwriting and university graduates who are good with computers from various businesses and factories, neighborhood watch units, Socialist Women’s Union of Korea organizations,” the source said. The clerical workers perform administrative work for the reregistration campaign from 7 AM to 11 PM. The people’s committees provide them with the three meals daily and even late-night meals. According to the source, the people’s committees told the newly mobilized clerical staff that “there must be no mistakes as this is a state project,” repeatedly stressing that all matters about the agencies under review are “secret.” This suggests that people’s committees are worried about clerical staff leaking secrets about the entities whose paperwork they are working on. Meanwhile, some government agencies, businesses, and organizations that changed their names or regulations without consulting the relevant higher-level authorities are worried that problems may arise during the reregistration process.  “Employees are concerned that problems might arise since the government is conducting the first proper reregistration effort in several years,” the source said. Translated by David Black. Edited by Robert Lauler.  Daily NK works with a network of sources who live inside North Korea, China and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.   Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net. Read in Korean

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR