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Mass surveillance in North Korea is a routine practice employed throughout the country. [1] North Korea "operates a vast network of informants who monitor and report to the authorities fellow citizens they suspect of criminal or subversive behavior." [2] North Korea has been described as a "massive police state", and its people "under constant surveillance". [3] [4]
One author wrote: [5]
Seemingly, every aspect of a person's existence in North Korea is monitored. This oversight of citizens has extended beyond wired microphones and wiretapping of fixed-line and mobile phones. Microphones are now even being used outdoors to pick up conversations. There is a general sense that it is dangerous to engage in any serious conversation about sensitive topics when three or more people gather at one place, regardless of how friendly they may be.
Juan Reynaldo Sánchez, a defected bodyguard for Fidel Castro who visited North Korea in 1986, wrote later how Fidel's Bodyguard Units were briefed by Cuban Intelligence who had worked in North Korea not to say anything sensitive since "The North Koreans put mics everywhere, listen to everything, and film everything". Unlike Cuba, which were usually limited to certain rooms for the purposes of investigations, the North Koreans reportedly bugged everywhere: hallways, elevators, rooms, bathrooms, etc. Curious about the veracity of this, while in a hotel elevator with another bodyguard, Sánchez disingenuously said out loud "You know what? I would love to read the works of Kim Il-Sung in Spanish. It's probably really interesting. But we can't get them in Cuba. It's a shame, don't you think?". Upon returning to their rooms later in the evening, all the members of the Cuban delegation found spread out on their beds the complete collection of Kim Il-Sung's works in Spanish. [6]
All computers are subject to random checks by authorities and must be registered with the government. Some computers may access the national intranet, called Kwangmyong, but true Internet access is restricted to the "super-elites". [7] [8] North Korean officials stationed abroad generally have their internet access monitored by staff. [7]
Western companies have been criticized for selling surveillance technology to repressive regimes, including North Korea. [9] [10] In order to "tighten surveillance over the populations in the border regions", surveillance teams were switched from five people to three. [11] [12]
The three major surveillance organizations in North Korea are the State Security Department, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), and the Military Security Command (MSC). [13]
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea reports that North Korea operates a "massive, multilevel system of informants", rewarding informers with gifts. That informant network is run by the State Security Department (SSD), which controls at least 50,000 personnel, and the SSD maintains a network of prisons for individual suspected of "holding unacceptable views". [3] The MPS monitors correspondence and telephone conversations. The Organization and Guidance Department of the Workers' Party of Korea is responsible for investigating and spying on senior officials. [14]
The Ministry of Social Security, the nation's police agency, is estimated to control nearly 140,000 - 210,000 public security personnel. [1] [3] [15] The current total number of informers for the police is estimated at 200,000 to 300,000, with many more having collaborated in the past. [16]
The Military Security Command of the Korean People's Army (KPA), the country's armed forces, is tasked with monitoring "the activities and political loyalties of [North Korean] military commanders and other KPA officers" and "identifying anyone seen as disloyal". [3] [17] The MSC became more prominent in the mid-90s, when there began a rapid increase in defections. [13]
Since all North Koreans are generally expected to be employed at a state place of work, surveillance also takes place at work. [18]
Over a span of four years, the government purchased about 100,000 closed-circuit television cameras. [19]
Ri Yong-ho, who held the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, was 'purged' after he was reportedly recorded on wiretap complaining about Kim Jong Un. [20] [21]
The politics of North Korea takes place within the framework of the official state philosophy, Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism. Juche, which is a part of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism, is the belief that only through self-reliance and a strong independent state, can true socialism be achieved.
The Korean People's Army encompasses the combined military forces of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). The KPA consists of five branches: the Ground Force, the Naval Force, the Air Force, Strategic Force, and the Special Operation Force. It is commanded by the WPK Central Military Commission, which is chaired by the WPK general secretary, and the president of the State Affairs; both posts are currently headed by Kim Jong Un.
The Socialist Patriotic Youth League is the main North Korean youth organization. Directly under the party Central Committee, it is the only mass organization expressly mentioned in the charter of the Workers' Party of Korea. Youth under 15 may join the Young Pioneer Corps, itself a part of the larger Korean Children's Union. The organization, modeled after the Komsomol in the former Soviet Union, includes all North Koreans without party membership between the ages of 15 and 30, although married women who opt to become housewives are transferred to the Socialist Women's Union. Officially, the guiding ideology of the organization is Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism.
North Korea ranks among some of the most extreme censorship in the world, with the government able to take strict control over communications. North Korea sits at one of the lowest places of Reporters Without Borders' 2024 Press Freedom Index, ranking 177 out of the 180 countries investigated.
The Ministry of State Security of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the secret police agency of North Korea. It is an autonomous agency of the North Korean government reporting directly to the Supreme Leader. In addition to its internal security duties, it is involved in the operation of North Korea's concentration camps, prisons and various other hidden activities. The agency is reputed to be one of the most brutal secret police forces in the world, and has been involved in numerous human rights abuses.
The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of South Korea, the WPK is the oldest active party in Korea. It also controls the Korean People's Army, North Korea's armed forces. The WPK is the largest party represented in the Supreme People's Assembly and coexists with two other legal parties that are completely subservient to the WPK and must accept the WPK's "leading role" as a condition of their existence. The WPK is banned in the Republic of Korea under the National Security Act and is sanctioned by the United Nations, the European Union, Australia, and the United States.
Kwangmyong is a North Korean "walled garden" national intranet service opened in the early 2000s. The Kwangmyong intranet system stands in contrast to the global Internet in North Korea, which is available to fewer people in the country.
The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (CMC) is an organ of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) which heads the Korean People's Army (KPA).
Daily NK is an online newspaper based in Seoul, South Korea, where it reports on various aspects of North Korean society from information obtained from inside and outside of North Korea via a network of informants. North Korea is ranked 177 out of 180 in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, which is compiled by Reporters Without Borders.
Koryolink is a North Korean wireless telecommunications provider. The company is a cellular operator held by Cheo Technology, a joint venture between Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding (OTMT) which holds 75% of the shares, and the state-owned Korea Post and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC). Koryolink started in 2008 and was the first 3G mobile operator in North Korea.
The award system of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was initially created less than one month after the foundation of the Republic. During the years of Japanese occupation of Korea, many of the future leaders fled to the Soviet Union. During World War II many if not close to all party leaders and Korean People's Army commanders served in the Soviet Army and as such adopted many of the Soviet awards criteria for their own. During the late 1940s and until the Sino-Soviet Split in late 1958, orders and titles were made in the Soviet Money Mints in Moscow or Leningrad. Soviet made awards were modeled after Soviet orders and made of sterling silver. Initially the orders were attached to clothing with a screw-plate, but after Soviet production stopped, production was moved to North Korea. The screwback was replaced with a pin and the silver content was replaced with cheap tin. With the exception of a few examples of modern orders, Soviet and Czech KPA awards are the most sought after in current militaria markets.
Choe Ryong-hae is a North Korean politician and military officer who currently serves as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and First Vice President of the State Affairs Commission, holding both positions since April 2019. Due to holding the first office, he was considered the head of state of North Korea before the country's constitution was amended to transfer this position to the President of the State Affairs Commission, Kim Jong Un. He is also a member of the Presidium of the Politburo and Vice Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). He also served as Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un's military second-in-command, currently being third top-ranking official in North Korea after Kim Jong Un and premier Kim Tok-hun.
Supreme Guard Command is the personal bodyguard force tasked with the protection of North Korea's ruling Kim family. The current Supreme Guard commander is General Yun Jong-rin.
Media coverage of North Korea is hampered by an extreme lack of reliable information, coupled with an abundant number of sensationalist falsehoods. There are a number of reasons for this lack of information and incorrect stories.
Hwang Pyong-so is a North Korean general and politician who held the rank of Vice Marshal in the Korean People's Army (KPA). He was a member of the Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea and the top-ranking vice-chairman of the State Affairs Commission.
The Organization and Guidance Department (OGD), or the Organizational Leadership Department created in 1946, is a department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea. Its central responsibility is to implement the directives and teachings of the Great Leaders comrade Kim Il Sung, comrade Kim Jong Il, and comrade Kim Jong Un. The department was initially a department within the WPK General Affairs Department, but eventually spun off and was established at the 3rd Plenary Session of the 2nd Central Committee as the Organization Committee.
The Reconnaissance General Bureau, part of the General Staff Department, is a North Korean intelligence agency that manages the state's clandestine operations. Most of their operations have a specific focus on Japan, South Korea, and the United States. It was established in 2009.
Cuba–North Korea relations are the bilateral relations between Cuba and North Korea.
Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il badges are lapel pins with portraits depicting either one or both of the Eternal Leaders of North Korea, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. The badges have been common since the late 1960s, and are produced by the Mansudae Art Studio. There are more than 20 different designs, some of which are more common than others. Common examples include red flag-shaped pins depicting either Eternal President Kim Il Sung or Eternal General Secretary Kim Jong Il, smaller circular pins with the same portraits on white backgrounds, and larger flag-shaped pins depicting both leaders.
Pak Jong-chon is a North Korean Marshal who is a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).
