Category: Society

On the last day of school last year, parents all over North Korea dressed up and made their way to nurseries and kindergartens for a special ceremony. There their children received a gift from the leader, Kim Jong Un, of sugary sweets and other goodies.

Young adults are being forcibly relocated to mines and rural areas in increasing numbers, according to recent defectors and sources in North Korea.

For Lunar New Year, which falls this year on Saturday, February 10, the recently established grain sales centers (which replaced the old distribution centers), were authorized to sell 3 kilograms of rice to each household. Officials characterized this as a thoughtful gesture by the Workers’ Party. But our impression from sources in North Korea is that citizens increasingly see such things as impractical propaganda.

North Korea has a long history of blocking and suppressing information from the outside world, so after the country finally reopened its borders about three years after the threat of COVID-19 somewhat subsided, the regime’s subsequent attempts to further stem the tide of information flows have caused concern among North Koreans and others outside the country.

The international organization Transparency International publishes an annual “Corruption Perceptions Index” (CPI) to evaluate corruption in 180 countries and North Korea has consistently been ranked as one of the most corrupt nations worldwide.