North Korea crackdown as neighbours told to spy and report ‘anti-socialist lifestyles’ | World | News

North Korea has launched a major crackdown on their people and is in the process of tightening its grip on daily life even more through an expanded surveillance apparatus. Under the new rules, citizens are being told to spy on and report their neighbours as part of revamped neighbourhood watch units.

Officials have pushed this systematic mutual surveillance as a core social obligation for its people. According to a source in the North Pyeongan province, regional branches of the Socialist Women’s Union of Korea (SWUK) held end-of-year review sessions in late December, examining how well members had followed directives from above, including participation in political study sessions and compliance with neighbourhood watch protocols. Officials repeatedly instructed attendees to “keenly watch for behaviour that goes against socialist lifestyles”.

“They kept emphasising that we must raise each other’s awareness and immediately report non-socialist behaviour so the enemies’ schemes don’t take root in people’s lives,” the source said, according to Daily NK.

During these meetings, what officials meant by “anti-socialist lifestyles” was defined in terms of mandated reporting. This included: cohabitation without marriage licenses, illegally renting property, possessing contraband items and consuming banned foreign media.

These contraband items refer to goods imported from abroad – particularly South Korea – while banned media includes South Korean films, television programs and music, which are all viewed by Pyongyang as threats to its regime.

This content is deemed as a direct threat to the Kim regime because it challenges state propaganda by offering glimpses into modern, prosperous and free life in the South. This then increases the risk of North Koreans questioning and ultimately rejecting the narratives of their own Government.

While authorities have been known to compel neighbours to spy on one another before, December’s push signals their intent to make reporting a permanent, normalised feature of daily life in North Korea.

Those who report the unacceptable behaviour will be offered material and political rewards, as well as opportunities to tour major destinations or Pyongyang. However, these incentives have also been paid with threats to encourage compliance. For example, anyone who witnesses violations but fails to report them will face harsh punishments under Article 48 of the Public Reporting System Law, such as three months of unpaid labour, re-education through forced labour or job termination.

Several attendees at the SWUK meetings criticised the crackdown, complaining they were “really fed up with these suffocating measures,” and expressing exhaustion at facing another year “under surveillance, since the authorities are telling us to watch each other more as we close out the year”.

“People are already tired of being watched by neighbourhood watch leaders and state security officers,” the source said, adding: “Now they’re frustrated that ordinary citizens are being told to monitor each other, too.”