CCTV camera in Jilin Province on the China-North Korea border
FILE PHOTO: CCTV camera in Jilin Province on the China-North Korea border. (Daily NK)
The North Korean regime has launched extensive inspections of household TVs to ensure channels remain locked. This campaign appears driven by the government’s fears about foreign cultural influence.
Sources in North Korea revealed to Daily NK recently that state security departments in Ungjin county (South Hwanghae province) and Hyesan (Ryanggang province) are conducting home visits to check television settings. These departments are following Ministry of State Security directives to perform random household inspections over a three-month period to verify that televisions maintain their channel locks.
The emergency measures were implemented after authorities discovered growing numbers of North Koreans secretly watching South Korean and Chinese broadcasts. Inspections target areas in South Hwanghae and Ryanggang provinces—regions bordering South Korea and China where foreign signals can be received.
North Korea prohibits unregistered electronic devices to prevent outside information from entering the country. Citizens caught using unauthorized devices face severe consequences.
The country’s Reactionary Ideology and Culture Rejection Law addresses these restrictions in Article 17, stating: “Agencies, enterprises, organizations and citizens must not consume impure propaganda on televisions or radios without a channel lock and must not distribute such propaganda to other people.”
Article 33 of the same law mandates that anyone who “violates the order for using electronic devices or transmission equipment” including televisions, radios and computers “shall be sentenced to disciplinary labor or, in severe cases, up to five years of hard labor.”
When North Koreans purchase televisions, they must immediately notify state security. Agents then physically lock the channels and apply a sticker from the No. 27 Bureau, ensuring residents can only access approved channels like Korean Central Television.
In Ungjin and Hyesan, security agents are conducting surprise raids on random households to verify television locks and No. 27 Bureau stickers. These raids specifically target residents who might be watching foreign broadcasts on unlocked or unregistered devices in border areas where South Korean and Chinese television signals can be received.
Residents in the affected regions are reportedly anxious about these inspections. “People are afraid that if they’re caught, they may be sent to a labor camp or, even worse, be forced to relocate. Relocation presents the nerve-wracking prospect of struggling to survive in an unfamiliar environment,” a South Hwanghae province source told Daily NK.
Local citizens have expressed frustration that families of officials in state organizations—including party members, security personnel, and police—appear exempt from these raids. According to a source in Ryanggang province, “A party official at a county in Ryanggang province spoiled the mood at a private gathering by complaining that it was pointless to watch Chinese channels because of all the commercials. His remark implied that government officials can switch to Chinese channels with impunity. Locals complain that the current raids have no impact on the families of state officials.”
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