North Korea recently held a closed-door meeting to tighten ideological controls on nuclear researchers, following the execution of several key scientists working on nuclear power plant construction.
According to a Daily NK source in Pyongyang recently, officials from the Central Committee and Cabinet met on the morning of Feb. 7 to discuss the country’s nuclear power plant development strategy and strengthen ideological oversight of researchers. This followed earlier discussions prompted by last month’s executions, which primarily focused on addressing what authorities deemed ideological problems among researchers.
The meeting emphasized strict ideological screening of researchers and harsh penalties for research failures, aiming to eliminate what officials called “defeatist attitudes” in the scientific community. “The meeting criticized the lack of progress in nuclear power plant research, blaming defeatist mindsets for severely hampering economic development,” the source said. “Those who doubted North Korea’s ability to build nuclear plants independently were condemned as corrupt defeatists undermining the country’s progress.”
According to the source, officials declared that researchers citing technical limitations would not be tolerated, stating that only those with a “revolutionary spirit” capable of overcoming all obstacles were qualified for state projects. The meeting also called for additional ideological screening of current researchers and restructuring research organizations around party-trusted individuals.
The focus remained largely on strengthening ideological control rather than improving research conditions. As follow-up measures, authorities ordered thorough ideological “reinspections” of all researchers and stricter handling of documents related to nuclear power plant technology.
While the meeting considered plans to address technical limitations in nuclear plant construction, no concrete solutions emerged given the challenges of accessing foreign technology. “Researchers are demoralized by the threat of punishment, as authorities increasingly emphasize ideological control in the nuclear power plant initiative,” the source said, noting this observation was included in a report on researcher attitudes in related sectors.
February 24, 2025 at 07:15AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)