North Korea’s Ministry of State Security held a two-day training session in Pyongyang for provincial counterintelligence officials, ordering an intensified crackdown on potential spies and dissent through year-end.
According to a Daily NK source, the session took place at the ministry’s headquarters on November 20-21. Officials were instructed to strengthen surveillance and investigate suspected dissidents, particularly regarding North Korea’s military cooperation with Russia and its recent designation of South Korea as a hostile state.
The ministry emphasized using secret informant networks to identify and eliminate what it called “seditious forces” that could undermine regime stability. Officials were specifically ordered to track and investigate anyone expressing doubts about the deployment of troops to Russia or questioning state policies regarding inter-Korean relations.
The heightened surveillance comes at a critical time for North Korea, as the regime faces international backlash over its growing military alliance with Moscow and its decision to provide military support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. These external pressures have coincided with increasing domestic unrest.
The source indicated that the ministry’s latest directives reflect growing concern about public dissent. “The state is clearly trying to suppress public rumors and control internal discontent,” the source said, noting that authorities appear particularly worried about the spread of unauthorized information among citizens.
Provincial security branches are now expected to significantly increase their surveillance and ideological policing activities. This intensification of control measures will likely lead to more tensions within North Korean society, with officials anticipating a rise in political crime accusations and investigations.
“Even officials familiar with the training directives are nervous about what’s coming,” the source added, suggesting that the crackdown could be more severe than previous campaigns. The atmosphere of heightened surveillance has created anxiety even among those responsible for implementing the new measures.
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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December 03, 2024 at 12:06PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)