North Korea has ordered more “wartime security efforts” across the country in response to the Ulchi Freedom Shield joint drills between South Korea and the United States that began on Aug. 19, Daily NK has learned.
A source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Thursday, “In accordance with orders to strengthen wartime security efforts on Aug. 18, the city of Hoeryong has tightened round-the-clock security at statues, revolutionary battlefields and historical sites.”
The North Korean government typically stokes tensions at home during U.S.-South Korean joint military drills, claiming they are rehearsals for a war of aggression. This year, North Korea ordered increased security at major facilities, including those linked to the cult of personality around the country’s leaders, on Aug. 18.
These efforts enhance security protocols and guard details as if the country were on war footing to protect critical facilities and resources in the event of a conflict.
According to the source, the Hoeryong party committee emphasized: “The U.S. imperialists and its puppet warmongers are once again rehearsing a war of aggression. Guard details need to be reinforced, and we must be on round-the-clock guard duty to ensure that our statues, revolutionary battlefields, and historical sites are safeguarded from an incursion by impure and hostile elements.”
The municipal party committee requested each organization to provide additional workers to bolster security details at important sites day and night. Consequently, two workers from companies and factories in the city are reportedly assigned daily to rotating 12-hour shifts, providing security at statues of the leaders and revolutionary sites.
The source also reported tightened security at the city’s neighborhood watch units, which were ordered to maintain constant guard duty in line with the current political situation.
Increased surveillance causes frustration among N. Koreans
However, North Koreans are expressing irritation at the government’s actions. A Hoeryong resident in their 40s said, “They’re ratcheting up surveillance on our families under the guise of bolstering security. Far from being helpful, that makes things harder on everybody.”