North Korean authorities have called for heightened vigilance among security personnel following recent alleged drone incidents over Pyongyang.
According to a Daily NK source in South Pyongan province, security departments across the country received a directive on Oct. 20 titled “Let’s Thoroughly Crush the Enemy’s Propaganda Operations.”
The document, obtained by Daily NK, condemns what it calls “an unforgivable provocation” by “South Korean puppets” who allegedly flew drones over Pyongyang on Oct. 3, 9, and 10 during nighttime hours to drop propaganda materials.
Throughout the document, anti-North Korean leaflets are consistently referred to as “political propaganda trash,” with calls for “everyone to unite in the struggle to crush the enemy’s leaflet operations.”
The directive claims these operations serve a dual purpose: to “undermine public trust in the Workers’ Party and Supreme Leader” and to “spread infectious diseases and viruses,” drawing parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the document, the ultimate goal is to “collapse our socialist system from within.”
This response reveals Pyongyang’s deep concern about the impact of outside information on its population. The language used suggests an implicit acknowledgment that such materials may be influencing public sentiment.
North Korea specifically criticizes several behaviors among its citizens:
- Ignoring suspicious materials
- Handling discovered materials
- Showing reluctance to participate in search operations
These actions are branded as “acts of treason that aid the enemy.”
The document emphasizes strict adherence to reporting protocols when propaganda materials are discovered, warning against “arbitrary handling” of such items. It also calls for “intensive efforts to combat negative phenomena that hinder the crushing of the enemy’s propaganda operations.”
Notably, the directive threatens “decisive strikes” against those who “spread rumors or disseminate the content of propaganda materials,” signaling a crackdown on information sharing within the country.
The document concludes by calling for “thorough awareness of the main enemy and firm anti-enemy consciousness,” urging citizens to “rise up as one” to ensure that “not a single piece of despicable propaganda trash takes root in our sacred nation’s sky and land.”
A Daily NK source commented with skepticism: “During the Arduous March (North Korea’s 1990s famine), they claimed frontline soldiers died from diseases caught from propaganda materials rather than starvation. They’re using the same old tactics now. No one’s going to believe that when so many people have already seen these materials and secretly watched (foreign content) on USBs.”
Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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