North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Mandates Propaganda Reform on Party’s 80th Anniversary

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Demands New Propaganda Strategies on Party Anniversary

On the occasion of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s 80th anniversary, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has issued a special directive to the Central Committee’s publicity and information department, emphasizing the need for innovative propaganda approaches. According to a source in Pyongyang who recently spoke with Daily NK, the message was delivered in late September, outlining specific missions and responsibilities for the department.

Kim’s directive began by highlighting the department’s fundamental role in educating North Korean citizens about the party’s ideology and policy directives. The message particularly stressed the importance of developing new propaganda methods aimed at the younger generation, helping them understand the rationale behind North Korea’s expanding nuclear arsenal and the hostile relationship with South Korea.

“This is an essential program for ensuring that all North Koreans adopt the party’s views as their own convictions,” Kim reportedly stated, underscoring the importance of ideological unity among the population.

The North Korean leader also ordered officials to establish clear connections between economic achievements and military capabilities in both domestic and international messaging. This approach reflects the regime’s longstanding “Military First” policy while attempting to showcase development progress to both internal and external audiences.

In his third point, Kim took aim at bureaucratic attitudes within the department, demanding officials “roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty” to accomplish their missions. “When a task is directly assigned by the Central Committee, we tolerate nothing but success,” Kim warned, signaling a zero-tolerance policy for failure.

The directive further emphasized the need for tailored propaganda strategies for different environments—military installations, factories, agricultural settings, and educational institutions. Kim cautioned that generic, one-size-fits-all messaging breeds public distrust, stating plainly: “Propaganda that people find boring or formulaic breeds distrust in the party.”

With the Workers’ Party anniversary approaching, Kim highlighted the department’s responsibility for energizing celebrations around this milestone. “Party Foundation Day is more than a mere anniversary—it’s the starting point of a new march toward the future of the fatherland,” he declared, framing the occasion as a pivotal moment rather than a routine commemoration.

In his sixth directive, Kim insisted that all propaganda must remain fact-based while forcefully expressing party positions. He specifically called for publicizing tangible accomplishments that ordinary North Koreans can directly observe—a potentially challenging requirement in a country facing significant economic difficulties and international sanctions.

The source noted that Kim expressed particular confidence in publicity and information department Director Ju Chang Il, describing him as “an individual with an admirable attitude of honoring the party both in word and in deed, the kind of person who always gets the job done.”

This directive comes at a significant moment for North Korea, which has been increasingly isolated on the international stage while strengthening military ties with Russia. The regime has continued its weapons development programs despite severe economic challenges exacerbated by years of sanctions, border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, and recent natural disasters.

In response to Kim’s message, the source reported that “all departments at the Central Committee’s publicity and information department have entered around-the-clock ‘combat posture,’ and officials are filled with courage and determination,” indicating the high-pressure environment now facing propaganda officials.

The emphasis on new propaganda techniques targeting younger North Koreans suggests potential concern within the leadership about maintaining ideological control over a generation that may be increasingly exposed to outside information through smuggled media and technology despite the regime’s tight information controls.