Party members told they must become standard-bearers and shock troops
Internal materials containing Kim Jong-un’s remarks at the 9th Party Congress [Photo/NK Times]
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North Korea is rolling out a program for party members and workers at factories and enterprises, telling them they must become standard-bearers and shock troops as part of a plan to tighten internal cohesion.
The move follows decisions made at the 9th Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea in February.
A political agitation session at the Hoeryong Coal Mine Machinery Factory last week ordered party members to play an exemplary role in implementing the decisions of the Congress.
Participants were repeatedly told they must “become standard-bearers and shock troops,” according to a source contacted in North Hamgyong Province.
Particular emphasis was placed on the responsibilities and discipline of party members, he said.
They were told they should observe labor discipline, including punctual attendance and compliance with workplace regulations.
“Isn’t this ultimately an attempt to increase pressure over production performance?” the source said, quoting some participants.
“One party member said that implementation of decisions made at the Congress was being used as an excuse to tighten control over people’s daily lives,” he said. “It is absurd to force party members to make unconditional sacrifices and show devotion without any compensation, while offering no improvement in rewards or treatment.”
“People are worried that organizational life, evaluations, and disciplinary control will become even stricter going forward,” he said. “In particular, anxiety is spreading that the weekly self-criticism ‘life review’ sessions and general meetings aimed at the ideological inspection of party members may be held even more frequently and with greater intensity.”
Analysts say the frequency and intensity have indeed increased this year, as the regime seeks to secure both economic performance and internal cohesion.
“The authorities are trying to maintain organizational control through ideological work amid prolonged economic hardship and signs of loosening discipline among residents,” a prominent defector said. “In particular, after the 9th Party Congress, they are likely to continue strengthening political lectures, loyalty pledge meetings, and performance mobilization efforts at each unit.”
Kang is a reporter at NK Times, a Seoul-based media outlet focused on North Korean issues. He was born in 1978 in Chongjin and graduated from Chongjin 1st High School in North Korea. After 10 years of military service in the 4th Army Corps, he attended Chongjin Agricultural University before defecting.
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