The prosecutor’s office in North Pyongan province recently held a lecture on domestic and international politics that reemphasized the “ultra-hardline response strategy to the United States” outlined in the ruling party’s plenary meeting late last year.
A source in North Pyongan province told Daily NK recently that the lecture was held at the provincial prosecutor’s office and “intensively analyzed the domestic and international political situation from last year to the present.”
The session was led by a lecturer from the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office in Pyongyang, who repeatedly stressed that officials must “strengthen our unshakable, iron-like sovereignty regardless of the political situation.”
The Pyongyang lecturer characterized 2024 as “a year when the conflict between forces of independence and forces of hegemony continued” and when “the brutal sanctions and warmongering of hostile forces reached an extreme.”
Despite challenges, the lecturer called 2024 “a tough year when floods created serious obstacles to normal state development, but also when our nation achieved the great goal of putting ‘the people and masses first’ while building a strong military.”
The lecturer defended North Korea’s nuclear program, saying that “developing our nuclear arsenal to the highest degree was the right choice.” He added that the country “will not expect attitude changes from the United States and its followers, and will instead pursue an ultra-hardline response strategy toward America unless heaven and earth switch places.”
The role of prosecutors
“Especially at times like these, we must trust the people and advance the revolution,” the lecturer continued. “Prosecutorial officials must monitor and inspect legal, police and state security agencies so that not even one person strays from the party’s embrace.”
This directive calls for prosecutors to prevent divisions between the party and the masses by uncovering misconduct within legal, police and security agencies during investigations and reporting these findings directly to the national government.
The lecturer emphasized that “national and provincial prosecutors must move with single-minded unity,” allowing prosecutorial agencies in Pyongyang to “accurately assess provincial public sentiment and report it to the Central Committee.”
The lecture also referenced North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s handwritten directive issued through the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office on May 31: “We are making a revolution today and tomorrow not for the state or society. I’ve never thought of Korea or the state without the people.”
“You must send the party honest reports about complaints and dissatisfaction in flood-hit areas from last year, along with opinions and realities about housing and livelihood problems that emerged afterward,” the lecturer instructed.
“It’s natural that people who instantly lost property they’d accumulated over 10 or 20 years would have complaints and feel upset. Officials who arrested people or sent them to reeducation camps simply for complaining must reflect on their actions.”
Contradictory messages
Concluding the lecture, the speaker reminded officials that “if legal agencies weaken, the sword blade of the working class becomes dull,” while warning them not to leak the lecture’s content.
However, some prosecutorial officials who attended complained about contradictory guidance from authorities.
“They asked us to resolutely punish people who complain, but now they’re asking us to reflect,” one said. “We can’t figure out what they want when they tell us to do one thing today and something else tomorrow.”
