＜Inside N. Korea＞ Party Congress Prompts Authorities to Intrude Into Private Life — Neglecting Elderly Parents, Divorce, and Unregistered Cohabitation Now Punishable as Immoral Conduct

◆ Raking Up the Past: "There's No One Who Won't Get Caught"

What has shocked people most is that not only current offenses but past cases that have already been punished are being dragged back out and used against them.

Reporting Partner B reported the following:
"Ahead of the party congress, each work unit is holding intensive denunciation sessions targeting anti-socialist and illegal conduct. Most of what they're raising is from cases that were already punished last year. The categories include divorce, domestic violence, distrust and violence toward women, and violations of public order — there's virtually no one who won't get caught. Among these, domestic violence, drinking, and divorce are being emphasized most heavily."

◆ "They're Squeezing Too Hard" vs. "We Welcome the Crackdown on Violence"

People's reactions appear mixed. While women in particular have responded positively to the crackdown on domestic violence, there is widespread cynicism about the pressure being applied amid already difficult living conditions.

"They've announced that domestic violence can result in expulsion from the party or removal from one's post, so women are somewhat pleased about that — but people also say that family fights happen because life is hard, and if everything were comfortable, there'd be nothing to fight about." (Reporting Partner B)

At the same time, there is open resentment at having even minor everyday lapses labeled as "anti-socialist."

"People are complaining that no two people are the same and that they're being squeezed too hard. The loudest complaints tend to come from men who fight with their elderly parents, beat their wives for infidelity, or have drinking problems. They joke, 'If you breathe wrong, will they punish you for smelling like alcohol?' — but underneath the humor is real discomfort." (Reporting Partner A)

If law depends on coercive enforcement, morality is something that members of a society uphold voluntarily through their own conscience. The authorities' attempt to forcibly rebuild a collapsed moral order in the name of the party congress paradoxically only exposes the immorality and systemic contradictions of the party and regime itself.

※ ASIAPRESS communicates with its reporting partners through Chinese cell phones smuggled into North Korea.