Senior-level cadres squirm under new scrutiny

Further tightening an ironclad grip over his power base, Kim Jong Un now
requires senior officials to report back on their locations by the hour, and those
who disobey are subject to dismissal from their posts, Daily NK has learned. 

The heightened regulation applies to those
at the minister and vice-minister levels within the Central Party and extends
to senior cadres from the Cabinet. Those under the purview of this ordinance must submit a daily itinerary complemented by hourly check-ins on their whereabouts,” a
source directly affected by the dictate in South Pyongan Province told Daily
NK on February 3.
 

This news was corroborated by a separate
source in Pyongyang on the same day.
 

He added, “Before turning in for the night, they must also give a detailed account of the day’s happenings: with whom they met, the location, and extensive details on the types of
projects discussed during each and every one of these interactions.”

This especially oppressive monitoring
system, anchored in an already unrivaled authoritarian environment, has been in
place since the Kim Jong Il era, but its scope and stringency have grown considerably under Kim Jong Un. “Officials situated in posts dealing with the
public are barely let out of Kim Jong Un’s sight,” the source asserted.

“By keeping close tabs on their movements by
the hour, he wants to seal off the possibility of factions emerging among
high-level officials afforded the opportunity and time to go off together and plot
something.”
 

Tracking the influx of data coming in from targeted officials is a clerk tasked specifically with documenting and organizing the information for Kim Jong Un’s review, upon which transgressors are accused of “defiance against the monolithic teachings.”

“If you’re told that you’ve disobeyed the
rules of reporting and asked where you are, you should consider yourself fired,” he said. “Many have already seen their downfall in this way since Kim Jong Un assumed power.”