North Korea’s Institute of Enemy State Studies is solidifying its role as the regime’s main vehicle for promoting the “hostile two-state theory” and creating internal propaganda about South Korean social problems.
The institute, formerly known as the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, has undergone a complete transformation since its renaming, according to a Daily NK source recently. It now functions as a specialized strategic research institution focused on confronting South Korea as an enemy.
The institute now employs video editors, sound technicians and other technical workers alongside political researchers to process footage from South Korean media and YouTube into audiovisual materials.
These materials focus on South Korean social conflicts including protests, strikes, youth crime and unemployment, and are used to educate North Koreans – particularly young people – that South Korean society is corrupt and its youth are trapped in despair. The institute has found that audiovisual content resonates more effectively with young audiences than written materials and can be repeatedly shown at educational sessions.
The institute’s expanded role reflects a strategic shift by the Workers’ Party’s 10th Bureau away from abstract concepts like “nation” or “unification” toward redefining South Korea as an enemy that must be confronted. This approach aims to erase unification concepts from North Korean consciousness while cementing the “hostile two-state theory.”
The institute now coordinates with multiple government departments, jointly analyzing South Korean diplomatic movements with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and weapons systems with the Munitions Industry Department. It also collaborates with the Workers’ Party of Korea’s Propaganda and Agitation Department on materials highlighting South Korean social problems.
The source said that North Korea’s leadership views this video production work as a strategic mission rather than simple propaganda, designed to eliminate what it sees as illusions about unification by showcasing South Korean social contradictions.
Meanwhile, Daily NK recently reported that North Korea issued instructions to replace maps of the entire Korean Peninsula attached to government agencies nationwide with “half maps” for the regime founding day of Sept. 9.
