North Korea is heightening ideological armament by mobilizing journalists for an expedition to revolutionary battle sites. This appears to be an effort to step up media propaganda while promoting economic and regional development.
The Workers’ Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on the 25th that national journalists and media personnel held a departure meeting on the 24th and began their expedition to revolutionary battle sites in the Baekdu Mountain area.
This expedition aims to enhance loyalty to the supreme leaders by visiting places related to the achievements of President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il of the National Defense Commission.
Young college students, workers’ organizations, party members, and soldiers from each region also participate in the expedition to prevent ideological relaxation and encourage activity in their respective duties.
Even journalists have joined the expedition, suggesting North Korea is urging those who propagate its policies on the front lines to be more active. It has been energetically promoting various policies since the beginning of this year.
North Korea, entering the fourth year of its five-year economic development plan, is urging the conquest of the 12 high points of national economic development following last year’s achievements. In addition, it announced the Regional Development 20X10 Policy at the Supreme People’s Assembly in January to address the disparity between Pyongyang and other regions.
The Regional Development 20X10 Policy aims to improve the living standards of the people in rural areas within the next 10 years by constructing modern factories in 20 cities and counties each year. As a part of this policy, ground-breaking ceremonies for local industrial factories were held in 20 regions last month.
Emphasis on propaganda-related activities continues as there are many goals to achieve. This is also why Kim Jong Un, the General Secretary of the Workers’ Party, held the first-ever workshop for propaganda workers in 2022 and ordered to “Increase the output of the loudspeaker.”
Ryom Chol Ho, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Korean Journalists Association who participated in this expedition, emphasized that “All members of the expedition must deeply engrave the revolutionary spirit of Baekdu Mountain and vigorously ignite the flames of the newspaper revolution and the publishing revolution to meet the requirements of the great transformation and high tide of socialist construction, thereby fulfilling their mission and duty as the ideological guards of the Party and the vanguard of the advance.”