The Korean People’s Army (KPA) released a new propaganda poster in September that avoided using customary phrases such as “American imperialists,” Daily NK has learned.
“After passing an internal review, the poster was published in the September issue of the KPA’s magazine,” a source inside North Korea told Daily NK last Tuesday. “The senior propaganda and agitation advisers of the army’s party committee also sent the posters to political advisers in all the KPA’s regiments, battalions and other smaller units.”
One of the posters acquired by Daily NK includes the phrase “Let us think only of war and embrace the battlefield” and includes a drawing of a KPA soldier surrounded by flames and taking aim with a gun.
“The September poster only portrayed fire and lightning on the battlefield, without any reference to the US, Japan, or South Korea,” the source told Daily NK. “It is quite rare to see a poster without a confrontational theme toward those countries.”
The lack of any antagonistic phrases aimed at North Korea’s traditional enemies may have been due to efforts by North Korea to resume denuclearization negotiations with the US in September.
Choe Son Hui, North Korea’s vice minister of foreign affairs, announced in early September North Korea’s willingness to resume negotiations. Other North Korean officials, including Kwon Jong-gun, director-general of the Department of American Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, chief nuclear envoy Kim Myong-gil, and diplomat Kim Kye-gwan, also released statements during September expressing a desire to resume talks.
The Korean People’s Army Publishing House is known to release new posters to coincide with the military’s summer and winter military exercises. The publishing house also releases new posters on special occasions, such as the “Day of Songun” (military-first) in August. The new poster was released at the end of the KPA’s summer drills, which usually lasts from July to September.
In regards to the poster’s design, Daily NK sources also reported that the soldier’s uniform and epaulets were drawn differently depending on the branch of the military the posters were sent to.
For example, posters distributed to the navy featured a soldier in a navy uniform with black epaulets, while posters given to the air force and anti-aircraft units featured a soldier with an air force uniform and sky blue epaulets. Meanwhile, posters handed down to the army featured a soldier in a regular KPA uniform.
Soldiers have expressed indifference toward the new poster, Daily NK sources said.
“Soldiers are accustomed to these kind of posters so their response has been one of apathy,” one of the sources added.
*Translated by Violet Kim
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