With propaganda campaigns more active than ever throughout North Korea ahead of the Ninth Party Congress, the driver of a loudspeaker truck in Haeju, South Hwanghae province, and the local party’s propaganda secretary were embarrassed on Jan. 30 when their vehicle stalled during the morning rush hour.
“A loudspeaker truck belonging to Haeju’s party committee would not start on Jan. 30, when it was supposed to blast propaganda during the morning commute,” a Daily NK source in South Hwanghae province said recently, requesting anonymity for security reasons. “The morning rush hour propaganda is an absolute must, so the mobile propaganda unit tasked with the morning’s work had to push the vehicle themselves.”
After pushing the truck for about 15 minutes, they barely got it to start, and the morning’s propaganda activities were conducted with barely a hitch. However, the party’s propaganda secretary was criticized after not only city residents but also party officials saw the agitation team pushing the truck.
“Since an order was issued to intensify propaganda activities, party officials are on edge,” the source said. “Pressure is building — if loudspeaker trucks even turn down their volume a bit, officials call the propaganda department and ask why they can’t hear the loudspeakers that day.”
Drivers left to foot the bill
As pressure mounts on party propaganda departments, propaganda secretaries are increasingly on edge. After the propaganda secretary of the Haeju party committee was criticized over the incident, he summoned the truck driver and harshly rebuked him for failing to keep the vehicle in working order.
The vehicle was not properly maintained even after the incident.
“Maintaining the loudspeaker truck is entirely the driver’s responsibility,” the source said. “Even if you report to your superiors that the truck has a problem, all they do is tell you to fix it quickly. They don’t provide either the parts or money for repairs.”
Drivers are ultimately left to personally cover replacement parts and repair costs, and sometimes even fuel.
City and county authorities sometimes provide fuel, but with loudspeaker trucks on the move more often due to the recent emphasis on agitation activities, fuel needs often exceed what authorities provide, and drivers are inevitably forced to incur greater expenses.
Loudspeaker truck operations have increased with the nonstop propaganda activities ahead of the Ninth Party Congress, and drivers are on guard as fuel expenditures rise and the risk of their rundown vehicles breaking down grows.
Being a loudspeaker truck driver is still considered a good gig in North Korea, however. Outside of periods like the current one, when drivers are expected to energize the public at large, they can make money using their vehicles to transport the belongings of party officials, while also broadening their personal networks.
“Officials often use loudspeaker trucks like they were their own vehicles,” the source said. “So many people want to become drivers, even if they have to pay for repairs or gas on their own.”
Reporting from inside North Korea
Daily NK operates networks of sources inside North Korea who document events in real-time and transmit information through secure channels. Unlike reporting based on state media, satellite imagery, or defector accounts from years past, our journalism comes directly from people currently living under the regime. We verify reports through multiple independent sources and cross-reference details before publication.
Our sources remain anonymous because contact with foreign media is treated as a capital offense in North Korea — discovery means imprisonment or execution. This network-based approach allows Daily NK to report on developments other outlets cannot access: market trends, policy implementation, public sentiment, and daily realities that never appear in official narratives.
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