FILE PHOTO: Explosive device reporting leaflet distributed in the Sinuiju area of North Pyongan province, North Korea.
North Korea is distributing leaflets urging citizens to report explosive devices. While this is presented as a public safety campaign, the actual goal appears to be safeguarding the regime’s leadership.
A source in North Pyongan province told Daily NK recently that the leaflets were distributed in Sinuiju and other cities and counties throughout the province at the beginning of August.
The leaflets contain a detailed description of explosives that citizens are supposed to report, including incendiary bombs, howitzer shells, mortar shells, aerial bombs, butterfly bombs, hand grenades and rocket projectiles that presumably date back to the Korean War.
The leaflets list the national tip line (110) and a phone number for the local bomb disposal unit and urge citizens to actively report any explosives they come across.
North Korean authorities stress that the bomb reporting campaign is essential for keeping the public safe.
There are in fact some North Korean people who fail to report unexploded ordnance and instead remove the detonators and use the explosives in their mining or fishing activities, which sometimes results in serious injury or death.
But since such cases are typically downplayed or swept under the rug, North Korean people think the bomb reporting campaign has a different purpose. The regime may instead be trying to prevent accidents from occurring at some of the major political events and rallies scheduled for the second half of the year.
Campaign reflects regime’s political priorities over public safety
“Unexploded bombs are regarded not as a mere safety issue, but as a means of political skulduggery. The regime is instilling the belief that even a minor accidental explosion could be an attempt on the lives of the leaders,” the source said.
“The regime places a greater priority on the wellbeing of the leadership than keeping civilians safe from harm. That’s why it’s working so hard to suppress any social unrest leading up to the big political events in upcoming months on the 80th anniversary of the party’s establishment.”
Notably, bomb disposal squads at police departments in cities and counties across the province have received a promotion — they are now being called “units” rather than “squads.” While bomb squads used to number fewer than 10 people, police departments have doubled their personnel assignments this year, the source said.
But North Korean people see that too as being a bid for political stability rather than an attempt to reinforce public safety.
“In the end, upgrading bomb disposal squads to units is mostly intended to eliminate threats to political events and ensure the safety of the leadership, which is the state’s greatest priority,” the source said.
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