North Korean officials conducted public ideological lectures to bolster support for Russia while stoking anti-U.S. sentiment, using external tensions to promote internal unity. The lectures, held in Sinuiju in early October, emphasized North Korea’s friendship with Russia while warning of heightened military tensions due to alleged “hostile actions” by the United States and its allies.
According to a source in North Pyongan Province, the lectures mentioned the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The source said one lecturer claimed that Israel “attacked Palestine and ordinary people and small children in the Gaza Strip died,” adding that “Israel was able to carry out such a vicious attack because the United States controlled it from behind.”
Regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, the lecturer focused on criticizing the United States, saying that the war has lasted for three years “because the United States is fomenting the war by providing Ukraine with lethal weapons.”
The lecturer said, “We will stand with the Russian people until Russia’s victory.” In other words, North Korea would support Russia’s victory in the war and support the Russian people because U.S. schemes caused the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The lecturer did not explain in detail how North Korea would support the Russian people. Nor did he mention sending North Korean troops to Russia.
The lectures may be aimed at preventing negative opinions about Russia in case recent troop deployments become known to the public.
Following the lecture witnessed by the source, positive opinions about Russia spread among the attendees.
People made pro-Russian statements such as, “It seems we can benefit more from being with Russia than China,” and “Things like oil and flour all come from Russia.
The close ties between North Korea and Russia have become more apparent since North Korea’s troop deployment.
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, who was on an official visit to Russia from Oct. 28 to Wednesday, had a surprise, unscheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, demonstrating the close ties between their countries.
The Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported Choe’s meeting with Putin on its front page on Wednesday, saying that the two “had a good talk on many undertakings for the steady development of the relations between the two countries and reaffirmed the will to further consolidate the DPRK-Russia friendship on the path of new comprehensive development.
Choe earlier held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Nov. 1. According to AFP, Sputnik News and others, Choe said that Russia would win under Putin’s wise leadership and that North Korea would always stand by Russia until the day of victory.
Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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