North Korea’s Ministry of Social Security has ordered local police boxes nationwide to intensify “mass educational activities,” a move that signals tighter surveillance of public ideological attitudes, according to sources.
A Daily NK source in North Pyongan province reported that Sinuiju police boxes received directives early this month to implement enhanced public education programs. Police boxes, which form the lowest tier of North Korea’s public security system, monitor households in their jurisdictions and track resident movements.
The order notably included instructions about “going into the masses to bring even just one person into the party’s fold” – language that suggests growing official concern about ideological discipline. According to the source, this reflects regime anxiety about public disaffection and attempts to counter it through intensified indoctrination.
“The directive aims to prevent even minimal ideological deviation and create a population that unquestioningly follows party orders through tighter controls,” the source explained. “The party considers only those who demonstrate absolute obedience as loyal citizens unified with the regime.”
In Sinuiju, police box officers have increased their monitoring of residents, using informants to document daily activities in minute detail. “They record people’s lives as if photographing them with a camera,” the source said. “With mass educational activities designated as the police’s primary task this year, residents fear life will become even more restrictive.”
“The state increasingly imprisons people in a web of surveillance and control, further suffocating those already struggling with hardships,” the source added. “The authorities should recognize that this surveillance is toxic to people’s lives. If this continues, the public’s suppressed discontent will only deepen.”
