North Korea’s state security agency recently instructed bureaus around the country to treat the consumption of South Korean television or publications as an act of hostility against the state and to harshly punish violators.
Multiple sources in North Korea told Daily NK that orders given by the Ministry of State Security last Thursday defined the acts of tuning the television to a South Korean broadcast and acquiring or distributing propaganda publications as acts of hostility against the state, acts that aid the enemy, and reactionary acts. The ministry also ordered that such behavior be punished more sternly than before.
“In the orders, the ministry declared that the current situation is more sensitive than before. It also stressed that the clandestine viewing of television programs or reading of propaganda publications from the enemy state can no longer be treated as ordinary crimes and that reoffenders from this time forward are political criminals who must be cordoned off from society,” said a source in North Hwanghae Province, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“The orders are to give out much harsher punishments to people watching television or reading publications from the enemy state, even if they’re first-time offenders,” said another source in Kaesong, who also spoke on condition of anonymity.
Order comes amid rising tensions on peninsula
North Korea appears to be ramping up the legal consequences of consuming foreign content as it elevates its antagonism toward South Korea.
In a speech before the Ninth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) at the end of last year, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that “reunification can never be achieved with the ROK authorities.”
“The North-South relations have been completely fixed into the relations between two states hostile to each other and the relations between two belligerent states, not the consanguineous or homogeneous ones anymore.”
Then in a policy speech at the 10th Session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly on Jan. 15, Kim brought up the need to revise the North Korean constitution while mentioning once more a fundamental shift in his policy toward South Korea.
The orders from the Ministry of State Security appear designed to indoctrinate the North Korean public with the concept of the “principal enemy” and to keep people on guard against acquiring and distributing videos and publications from the “enemy state” according to the hardline stance toward South Korea that was confirmed in the recent WPK plenary session and meeting of the Supreme People’s Assembly.
“In accordance with the ministry’s instructions, the provincial state security bureau has declared the first quarter to be a time for focusing on suppressing the watching of television programs and the acquisition and distribution of publications from the enemy state and has promised to dedicate all resources to that cause,” said a source in North Pyongan Province, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The source further reported that “the bureau is also taking the initiative to strengthen its anti-espionage efforts and expand their scale; equip all sectors, regions, workplaces, and members with revolutionary vigilance and class consciousness, and to ruthlessly crush elements who agitate against the revolution.”
Some security officials express cynicism
Notably, the North Pyongan Province bureau is calling on individual security agents to play a bigger role in achieving the party’s ideology and basic demands to instill the population with the concepts of “enemy state” and “principal enemy.”
However, the source said that some state security agents have responded to these orders with cynicism: “When has South Korea not been our enemy?” one asked wearily. “They were talking about dealing with the enemy last year, too, and teaching us not to fall for the enemy’s ideological and cultural incursions,” another remarked.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
Daily NK works with a network of sources who live in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous due to security concerns. More information about Daily NK’s reporting partner network and information-gathering activities can be found on our FAQ page here.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
