Kim Jong-un visits Supreme Court, prosecutors, and security agencies, emphasizing their role as vanguard of regime defense
Kim Jong-un visits the Ministry of State Security | Image: KCNA
Kim Jong-un visited key pillars of the regime on the same day this month in what analysts say indicates a continued strengthening of the tools of repression.
The visits on November 18 were to the Supreme Court, the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Social Security, and the Ministry of State Security, according to a November 19 KCNA report.
Although the visits coincided with the 80th anniversary of the founding of the institutions, these are seen as more than commemorative events. Rather, they are political moves aimed at reinforcing regime cohesion and strengthening internal control.
Kim described the judicial organs as “legal guardians defending the state and the people.”
The Ministry of Social Security, which functions as the interior ministry and is the principal law enforcement agency, has paramilitary Social Security Forces which Kim described as the “core armed strength for defending the revolution and the system.”
The ministry is supervised by the State Affairs Commission which is the country’s supreme political authority.
The Ministry of State Security, meanwhile, is the secret police agency and is autonomous, reporting directly to Kim. He described it as the “red shield.”
All must demonstrate absolute loyalty to the Party and the people, Kim said.
Kim’s remarks reaffirmed these institutions as the frontline of regime preservation while also encouraging competition among them to achieve greater results.
During his visit to the Supreme Court and the prosecutors, Kim said officials should carry out their revolutionary mission of defending the state and the people, and called for further strengthening of the socialist legal system. He emphasized that over the past 80 years, the judiciary had laid the legal foundation of the socialist state, and urged them to continue implementing Party ideology to reinforce the legal framework.
At the Ministry of Social Security, he defined its forces as one of the republic’s two core armed pillars, highlighting their mission to defend the revolution and the system. He praised their history of sacrifice and struggle, and directed them to uphold an unwavering spirit of service to the people.
His statements went beyond commemorating institutional achievements, serving instead to redefine each body as a vanguard of regime defense and to instill loyalty.
By delivering congratulatory messages and posing for commemorative photographs, Kim reinforced personal loyalty to himself and differentiated the status of each institution.
This strategy appears designed to foster competition among them for greater merit, echoing tactics deployed by his father, Kim Jong-il, when rivalry between the security services and the military was encouraged.
Kim’s actions reflect his anxiety over growing instability. Amid economic hardship, food shortages, and the influx of outside information, public discontent has been rising. By personally rallying the coercive institutions, Kim appears to seek to bolster their capacity to respond to crises.
Historical precedents include the 1990s “Arduous March” famine, when the regime expanded the powers of the security services to counter unrest and defections, as well as the 2013 purge of his powerful uncle Jang Song-thaek, in which state security forces were mobilized to eliminate a perceived threat to Kim’s authority.
Ultimately, Kim’s visits amount to a strategy for managing regime insecurity. By reaffirming these institutions as the frontline defenders of the system, encouraging loyalty-driven competition, and signaling readiness to employ coercive force, he demonstrated a familiar pattern of crisis response within North Korea’s power structure.
Kim Yumi, a North Korean defector, was born and raised in Haeju, South Hwanghae Province, a coastal military area. Growing up near a naval base, she was able to secretly watch South Korean news programs and TV shows, thereby uncovering the vibrant, democratic society of South Korea. Yumi and her husband made the brave decision to escape North Korea and seek a better future. Now in Seoul, she is actively involved in raising awareness about the realities of life in North Korea, especially on her YouTube channel, “@KimYumiTV.”
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