As North Korea’s grip on society tightens by the day, the front-line police officers charged with preserving the regime in their public interactions face an increasingly heavy workload. The past year is remembered as a particularly exhausting one due to a spate of political events and internal probes held to mark the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Ministry of Social Security.
In North Korea, a post with the police has long been prized as a reliable meal ticket because officers, given their great latitude in enforcing the law, are in the perfect position to solicit bribes from the public, whether overtly or covertly.
But as North Koreans tighten their belts amid a stubbornly poor economy, the days are long gone when police could line their pockets with bribes and live high on the hog. The reality is that the prolonged economic downturn is also impacting law enforcement officers’ pocketbooks.
North Korean police officers live a paradoxical existence, responsible for monitoring the populace and punishing the wrongdoers who are their own source of sustenance. So how do members of the force hope 2026 will turn out? At the turn of the year, Daily NK interviewed a police officer in North Hamgyong province to learn about the truth behind the badge. As this officer admitted, the police would only stand to benefit from public prosperity.
Daily NK’s interview with the police officer from North Hamgyong province is presented below in Q&A format.
Daily NK: When you look back at the past year, what was the hardest thing for you as a police officer?
“Last year, we had intense probes inside the force and a major increase in enforcement on the street for the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Ministry of Social Security. Every day our schedule was jammed with beat patrols, nighttime stings, and home inspections. Since the economy is sluggish and people are struggling, law enforcement officers like myself can’t expect as many bribes as we used to. The bribes we do get tend to be meager, making it harder to make a living. All told, it was a really exhausting year.”
Daily NK: The Rodong Sinmun reported that Kim Jong Un made a personal visit to the Ministry of Social Security on the 80th anniversary of its establishment and emphasized that its original mission is defending the socialist system.
“On this milestone year, the Marshal (Kim Jong Un) said that whereas foreign invasions are the responsibility of the Korean People’s Army, the protection of the interior is the responsibility of the police and state security bodies in a rousing speech designed to instill confidence in the Party and in himself as supreme leader. The Marshal seemed to be telling police officers and state security agents to apply themselves even more diligently to their respective tasks. Even so, I felt pride as a police officer to hear his words of praise.”
Daily NK: So an exhausting year is over. Do you have any hopes for the New Year? What, if anything, would you like to see?
“To be honest, I find myself thinking that if we were to go to war with South Korea and win, we could take over its developed economy and enjoy prosperity at least for a time. If there’s not going to be a war, I wish we’d adopt an open-doors economic policy like China and grow our economy so that people can enjoy a little stability instead of being slammed all the time. Everybody wants people to live more comfortably. Speaking frankly, we (police officers) like it when people are better off.”
Daily NK: President Lee Jae-myung in South Korea keeps calling for inter-Korean relations to be improved. Do you want to see change in inter-Korean relations in the New Year?
“The South Korean government says it wants to improve relations with us, but that just sounds like play-acting to me. President Moon Jae-in came here (to North Korea), but nothing actually changed. The Marshal has said that reunification with South Korea is no longer our goal and that we are two hostile countries. So I think that dialogue or cooperation will be impossible going forward. As a result, the Korean government’s words sound pretty lame to me.”
January 17, 2026 at 07:18PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)