According to data recently obtained by this newspaper, the Ministry of Public Safety issued an order on the 4th to the security departments of each province, city, and county to mobilize all their capabilities to responsibly conduct intensive crackdowns, searches, and overnight inspections from 9 p.m. on the 8th to 1 a.m. on the 9th.
The order was issued in accordance with the Supreme Commander’s (Kim Jong-un) approval task, and the purpose is to guarantee political events held around the 79th anniversary of the Party’s founding in every way possible and to thoroughly guarantee the political safety of society, the Ministry of Public Safety stated.
In particular, the safety directive designated “places where many people gather, such as statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il and statues of the sun, revolutionary historical sites, revolutionary battle sites, research labs of Kim Il-sung-Kim Jong-ilism, and their surroundings, houses, inns, government and enterprise buildings, railway stations, passenger bus parking lots, areas around major roads, and especially areas where signal flares were fired, basements of public buildings, criminal hideouts, border areas and places where enemy material was scattered, caves, etc., as hideouts where so-called ‘subversive elements’ can hide and operate” as search operation areas.
He then emphasized, “The provincial, city, and county security departments at all levels will focus on conducting searches and lodging inspections at important event sites, their surroundings, and criminal hideouts, focusing on finding crime targets, unidentified suspicious targets, hiding criminals, missing persons, corpses, vagrants, weapons, bullets, explosives, and firearms, as well as crimes and evidence.” In this way, North Korea is showing a move to strengthen internal unity by conducting nationwide concentrated crackdowns and searches ahead of the 79th anniversary of the founding of the party. These measures reflect the increasing instability in the international community, such as the recent wars between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas, and are interpreted as an intention to secure political stability by blocking internal unrest in advance and suppressing public discontent.
In relation to this, it has been reported that the Chongjin City Safety Department will conduct a search operation by mobilizing 1st force starting in the afternoon of the 8th according to the safety department’s instructions.
The search and lodging inspection will be conducted in close cooperation with the People’s Army units, safety, security, and Worker-Peasant Red Guards in the garrison area, and it has been reported that a specific search plan has been drawn up for the search targets and areas, including caves within the jurisdiction, hiding places where so-called ‘subversive elements’ can hide and maneuver, and especially caves and abandoned mines near railroads and important roads.
In addition, the security personnel and soldiers mobilized for the search will be secretly deployed to the operation area 30 minutes before the operation time to strengthen mutual relations and conduct a surround operation to prevent criminals and lawbreakers from escaping during the search process, the source explained.
The source said, “In this operation to mark the founding anniversary of the party, the command has instructed that concentrated crackdowns, searches, and lodging inspections be conducted in accordance with the characteristics of the region,” and “Accordingly, the Chongjin City Safety Department is planning to intensively conduct lodging inspections, patrols, and searches in areas where illegal lodging and prostitution are severely occurring.”
He continued, “Criminals and lawbreakers caught during concentrated crackdowns, searches, and lodging inspections will be handled by the relevant departments and branch offices, and deserters and other military troublemakers will be handed over to the local People’s Army Police Department or military unit security agency,” explaining the methods and procedures for handling those caught.
While saying, “(Safety) Ministry’s instructions, after this operation is over, each safety department, division, and sub-division unit will conduct a summary operation,” he added, “I understand that the summary operation will strongly summarize the issues raised in the operation.” ***This article is a translation by Google, so it may differ from the Korean content.
