The North Korean military’s General Political Bureau is currently carrying out inspections following a recent order given by leader Kim Jong Un for the family guidance sections of the political departments of front line units to be placed under greater oversight.
A source in the North Korean military told Daily NK on Monday that this order and the subsequent inspections began with a coronavirus-related report that was drafted by the State Emergency Anti-epidemic Command.
The main thrust of the report was as follows: The child of a soldier in the Second Division of I Corps (Kumgang County, Kangwon Province) picked up an item originating from South Korea near the border and handed it over to a soldier who often visited their house. Then an officer who had contact with the soldier went to Pyongyang on an assignment, causing an outbreak of COVID-19 there.
In response to this incident, the State Emergency Anti-epidemic Command proposed a full inspection of the family guidance sections of units responsible for overseeing military families on the grounds that the dangerous consequences of slack discipline among military families in the border region should not be disregarded.
On July 11, following an order by Kim Jong Un, the General Political Bureau launched sweeping inspections of the family guidance sections of the political departments of all army corps, navy squadrons, and air force units on the front lines.
“The supreme commander of the armed forces [Kim Jong Un] placed the blame for [the spread] of the infectious disease – referred to as a ‘national catastrophe’ – on the psychological state and complacent attitude of those who failed to promptly report items from South Korea, and demonstrated his concern [about the matter] by ordering that such matters not be overlooked,” the source said.
The source further reported that staff from the main departments at the General Political Bureau — including the family guidance department, organization department, propaganda department, youth activities department, general affairs department, and the party life guidance department — were assigned to carry out these inspections.
The General Political Bureau believes the heads of political departments in front line units of the army, navy, and air force bear full responsibility for this matter and has instructed them to submit to inspections along with the head of the family guidance section in their units, the source continued.
“The Second Division of the I Corps is under scrutiny in this extensive set of inspections. The General Political Bureau is probing the system set up to report on South Korean items at family guidance sections in units on the front lines and the implementation of working-level political programs during the fight against the pandemic. It intends to include any irregularities within the report ordered by the supreme commander of the armed forces,” the source added.
This development has placed members of I Corps — and in particular, the family guidance section of its Second Division — in a state of extreme anxiety.
Rumors are swirling among the families of local soldiers that the child and their family have been taken to an unknown location. It is also widely assumed that the head of the family guidance section in the Second Division will be sacked and disciplined with hard labor.
The General Political Bureau’s inspection of all family guidance sections in front line units of the army, navy, and air force will continue through the end of July, the source said.
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