In a series of study sessions, the North Korean ruling party is reminding officials that party programs must not disregard the Korean people, Daily NK has learned.
A source in South Pyongan province told Daily NK on Wednesday that the Central Committee’s publicity and information department sent a special study guide to each provincial party committee early this month urging officials to remember that the masses of the people are the heart of socialism and instructed the committees to hold study sessions based on that guide during November.
According to the source, copies of the study guide were forwarded to Onchon county in Nampo and Ushi county in Jagang province, where corrupt behavior by officials was widely denounced early this year.
The study guide stresses that officials need to engrave Kim Jong Un’s undying ideology, the achievements of his leadership and his love of the people on their hearts and to recall once again that socialism is centered on the masses of the people. The guide treats Kim’s revolutionary activities and the great truth that “the people are the foundation of socialism” as the center of North Korean ideology, the source said.
Motivating officials before congress
The source explained that the publicity and information department had distributed this study guide to motivate officials to stay out of ideological or moral trouble before the Ninth Party Congress while reminding them of the “enormous crimes” that were sternly dealt with before the eyes of the entire party earlier this year.
In an expanded meeting of the party’s secretariat on Jan. 27, Kim openly denounced Onchon county officials who had been treated to drinks at a bar and Ushi county farm inspectors who had seized residents’ property.
The publicity and information department sought to inspire officials by describing some of Kim’s benevolent actions in the study guide.
For example, the guide recounted how Kim had visited flood-stricken areas and viewed the destruction in a rescue boat before ordering that new houses be built for the victims. It also reminded officials that Kim had brought flood victims to Pyongyang so they could experience the city’s culture.
The publicity and information department said that “the Great Marshal (Kim Jong Un) is the first to sympathize with the people’s struggles and pay attention to their livelihood” and that “no matter what officials may accomplish in their work, it pales in comparison to the Marshal’s benevolent efforts on behalf of the people.” The guide also emphasized that officials need to once again internalize the truth that the people represent the very foundation of socialism, the source said.
Debates and reflection ordered
The publicity and information department said that after this guide was used to hold study sessions for officials at all levels, a series of “practical debates about people-first policy” should be held to compare the current situation with Kim’s benevolent ideology.
In addition, the department ordered that the slogan “Our existence depends on the people’s belief and love” be displayed at these debates and that members of each unit energetically reflect upon examples of perfunctory or bureaucratic behavior and devise ways to prevent such behavior in the future.
