North Korea’s Ministry of State Security recently issued an order to branches in the China-North Korea border region to intensify control over local residents in line with recently elevated tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
A source in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK on Friday that the provincial, city and county branches of the Ministry of State Security have been tightening their ideological surveillance of the public since Oct. 2.
“The measure follows an order by the Ministry of State Security to closely watch and punish behavior that harms internal order, in keeping with the current situation,” he said.
According to the source, the Ministry of State Security issued an order to its local branches along the China-North Korea border on Oct. 1, calling on them to get a firm hold on their jurisdictions so that “not one single incident or accident occurs.”
The order called on local security officers to keep tight control over ideological trends in their jurisdictions, taking measures against wayward developments rather than simply standing by and watching. In particular, it called for agents to immediately arrest those who continue to use illegal mobile phones that should have been turned in to the authorities, subjecting them to stiff criminal punishments through public trials.
The Ministry of State Security’s order appears aimed at preventing public unrest and disaffection with the regime amid increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula recently.
After telling the public nothing about the nation’s recent string of missile launches, North Korea state media revealed on Oct. 10 that it carried out military drills of tactical nuclear weapon units from Sept. 25 to Oct. 9.
Many North Koreans reportedly expressed discontent following the reports, wondering why the country was firing off so many missiles.
In fact, the source said security agents in the Hanam-dong neighborhood of Sinuiju have been closely watching over the public as of late, using informers to see what complaints people are making. Their goal has been to root out elements that slander or criticize state policy.
However, the informants mobilized for the snooping effort are reportedly telling the targets of this surveillance campaign to watch what they do or say “because the Ministry of State Security is trying to watch them very closely.” With the authorities intensifying public surveillance, it appears many North Koreans are trying to protect each other. It also suggests the great degree of distrust many ordinary people have toward the Ministry of State Security.
“People complain that while commoners are suffering from daily food shortages, the leadership doesn’t care if they live or die because their bellies are full,” the source said. “Other people criticize how on one hand, [the authorities] fire missiles, and on the other, they use the Ministry of State Security to watch over everything the people do.”
The source said people are even saying that if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un really wanted to help the nation and the people, “he should send the security agents surveilling the people to farms producing rice.”
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