One of the biggest concerns facing the North Korean regime is the influx of external information and the resulting weakening of regime cohesion. While North Korea recently claims that the power of the state is stronger than ever, internally, we can see an all-out war being waged to block reactionary ideology.
On April 12, News1 obtained the 10th issue of 2025 (published in October) of the Workers’ Party Central Committee’s organ Worker, which included an article by Go Hyun-sung, the chief prosecutor of Gangwon Province, titled, We must resolutely crush the reactionary ideological and cultural infiltration attempts.
Worker is a political theory magazine founded in 1946, primarily written by high-ranking officials of the Workers’ Party and ideological theorists. It is used to educate party officials nationwide on policy trends. Through this, consistent state policies and ideological theories are propagated to all people. Therefore, the contributors and content of articles in Worker serve as an indicator of the concerns of the North Korean authorities.
Prosecutor Go emphasized that the enemies aim to spread reactionary ideological poison among the people, especially the youth, to disintegrate and degrade them class-wise, instill illusions about the West, defeatism, and a sense of surrender, ultimately trying to collapse the socialist system from within. He stressed the need to firmly establish safeguards and resolutely eradicate these influences.
He mentioned that even recently, the enemies, terrified by our growing national power and prestige, are continuously pushing decadent reactionary ideology and culture into the interior through various political propaganda waste (leaflets) that maliciously slander the socialist system, as well as through television (TV) channels and radio, while spending large sums of money.
Go also regarded the weakening of class consciousness as a risk to regime collapse, stating that more dangerous than enemies attacking with guns is the reactionary ideological and cultural infiltration attempt that comes in colorful disguise. He warned that even a moment’s hesitation or the slightest concession would allow reactionary ideology and culture to seep in, ultimately ruining the fate of the country and nation.
Go’s article is noteworthy as it came after a North Korean resident defected on foot through the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) in the eastern front of Goseong, Gangwon Province, in July last year. While the specific reason for this resident’s defection hasn’t been confirmed, it’s highly likely that the authorities’ view of citizen defections as a factor in regime cohesion breakdown is reflected. In Goseong, Gangwon Province, there was also an incident in August 2024 where a sergeant-level soldier defected by crossing the MDL.
Go emphasized that the collapse of socialism when class consciousness becomes blurred is a painful lesson engraved in history. He stressed that the countries that were building socialism in the past collapsed not because their military or economic power was weak, but because they failed to raise awareness and resolutely eradicate the ideological and cultural infiltration of imperialists.
He then heightened vigilance by stating that if reactionary ideology and culture are allowed, the dignity and spirit of the nation will be trampled, and exotic lifestyles will dominate society. He warned that in such a case, people will naturally lose their national identity, fall into nihilism, and blindly look up to and follow others.
Some interpret Go’s article as evidence that exposure to external culture through leaflet distribution by civil organizations or via the sea is more severe in border areas like Gangwon Province compared to other regions. North Korea has previously claimed that COVID-19 virus spread to their region through leaflets distributed from South Korean areas of Gangwon Province during the pandemic.
However, despite this message of heightened vigilance coming in October last year, when South Korea’s military loudspeaker broadcasts, intelligence authorities’ radio broadcasts to North Korea, and civilian leaflet distributions to North Korea had stopped after the inauguration of the Lee Jae Myung government, some interpret this as evidence that the sense of unease in border areas is similar between North and South Korea.