The document, written in January 2023, consists of eight articles, and contains the content that North Korea should prioritize the elimination of pro-American and pro-Japanese forces, anti-regime figures, and key government officials in South Korea in the wartime occupied areas, and establish a North Korean-led social order in the occupied areas.
According to the document, North Korea stated in Articles 1 and 2 of the “Safety Project” that it would “detect and eliminate the activities of enemies and reactionaries infiltrating the rear” and “intensely conduct legal battles against wartime criminals and all types of lawbreakers,” while Articles 3 and 4 emphasized that it would “organize and conduct legal battles against those who disrupt wartime order.”
In particular, in Article 4, North Korea clearly stated that it must prioritize the timely detection and dealing with subversive elements that collude with puppet (South Korean) intelligence agencies to cause internal disruption, thereby solidifying that anti-regime forces and hostile forces must be promptly identified and dealt with in times of emergency. In other words, it presented specific action guidelines in occupied areas in times of emergency and clearly stated that internal enemies and opposition forces must be eliminated without fail.
In Article 5, North Korea also stated that it should “actively select and utilize collaborators in the liberated (South Korean) areas, thoroughly collect and seize the lists and data of puppet police officers and spies, establish safety measures, and crack down on vehicles and people traveling during curfew hours according to the proclamation (public notice) of the People’s Army Garrison Command stationed in the liberated areas.” This clause seems to reflect North Korea’s strong intention to maintain social order by thoroughly managing and controlling anti-regime figures and collaborators after occupying the South Korean area.
In Article 6, North Korea clearly and specifically stated the targets of punishment in the occupied areas, stating, “We will detect and arrest reactionaries, including pro-Americans, pro-Japaneses, traitors to the nation, comprador capitalists, vicious landlords, those who have committed vicious atrocities in the puppet National Intelligence Service (NIS), the judiciary, police, military, and administrative agencies, and those who have reported or executed patriotic figures and revolutionaries in the South, and hand them over to the local security agencies for processing.”
The word “process” in the document actually means execution, and the source stated that it reflects the authorities’ will to thoroughly eliminate anti-regime forces and hostile elements in the occupied South Korean areas in the event of an emergency.
The source also claimed, “Although it is not reflected in this document, in the event of a war, the security officers in each region will control the liberated areas at the same time as the soldiers advance, and search for and prioritize the execution of pro-Americans, pro-Japaneses, and descendants of landlord capitalists.”
In addition, Articles 7 and 8 emphasize that they will strongly fight legal battles against exhibition security projects and violations of the Forest Act. This seems to be an attempt to secure resources through forest protection during wartime and to stabilize the lives of residents through protection of the national land and environment thereafter.
***This article was translated by Google and may differ from the Korean version.
