North Korea’s police organization, the Ministry of Social Security, has instructed regional security departments to strengthen control over weapons, ammunition, and explosives in connection with Kim Jong Un’s visit to China. The measure appears to be a control policy aimed at securing the supreme leader’s personal safety and blocking potential activities by hostile elements.
A Daily NK source in North Hamgyong province reported recently: “After news of the Marshal’s (Kim Jong Un’s) China visit emerged late last month, the Ministry of Social Security issued instructions to security departments to thoroughly manage weapons, ammunition, and explosives to ensure not a single incident occurs.”
The North Hamgyong province security bureau actually convened an emergency meeting on Aug. 30 to relay the Ministry of Social Security’s instructions to city and county security departments throughout the province. The Hoeryong security department reportedly immediately strengthened control and security over weapons, ammunition, and explosives upon receiving the instructions that same day.
They checked inventory and transfer records for weapons and ammunition as well as storage conditions, while thoroughly controlling security personnel’s access to armories and implementing measures preventing any unauthorized access.
Heightened surveillance and political consequences
The city security department issued strong warnings to security personnel working shifts at armories and ammunition depots, stating that “political responsibility will be imposed if even a small accident occurs due to mistakes or carelessness.” The term “political responsibility” is not limited to individuals and can extend to family members under the guilt-by-association system, creating extreme tension among security personnel.
The enhanced control measures for weapons, ammunition, and explosives represent the Ministry of Social Security’s immediate response to what they judge to be a sensitive period that could threaten regime security.
North Korea has historically mobilized all public security agencies including the Ministry of Social Security and Ministry of State Security during the supreme leader’s overseas visits to closely monitor public sentiment and prevent various incidents and accidents. They have raised security to maximum levels based on the assessment that such periods provide optimal opportunities for hostile elements and subversive forces hiding within society to become active.
This latest Ministry of Social Security directive can be understood in the same context. Accordingly, security personnel are currently deployed throughout cities, maintaining round-the-clock vigilant duty while preparing for unexpected situations such as explosions, arson, graffiti, or defamatory messages at important facilities like statues and revolutionary historic sites, according to the source.
Particularly since Kim Jong Un’s China visit was announced in advance, the Ministry of Social Security is demanding the highest level of security posture, even more stringent than previous occasions.
According to the source, both local security officers responsible for people’s neighborhood units and additional security personnel from the city security department have been deployed to closely monitor the situation. Authorities are using informants to control residents’ words and actions to prevent rumors about Kim Jong Un’s China visit from circulating, creating an atmosphere where residents are cautious about what they say.
On Sept. 2, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported that Kim Jong Un departed Pyongyang by special train on Sept. 1 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend China’s 80th anniversary victory commemoration, and crossed the border early on Sept. 2.
