Seoul: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un marked the 80th founding anniversaries of several major security and judicial institutions with visits to their headquarters, where he highlighted their central role in defending the country’s socialist system, state media reported on Wednesday.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim visited the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office on Tuesday to offer congratulations to their personnel.
At the Ministry of State Security, Kim was received by Minister Ri Chang-dae and other senior officials. KCNA said he delivered “warm military greetings” to service members, praising them for following “the road of patriotism and loyalty” in their efforts to protect the ruling party and the state.
Kim credited the ministry’s officers with contributing “feats and brilliant merits” that have enabled the ruling party to achieve what he described as legendary victories against hostile forces. He expressed confidence that personnel would continue to uphold their responsibilities in the future.
KCNA described the state security ministry as a core intelligence body with extensive authority over surveillance and the detection of dissent through tightly controlled monitoring networks. The report referred to the ministry as a “political defender” of the ruling party. This visit was Kim’s first to the agency since 2012, a year after he assumed power. He was accompanied by party secretary Jo Yong-won, party director Kim Hyong-sik and Kang Yun-sok, vice chairman of the parliamentary standing committee.
State media also noted that Kim had visited the ministry in 2009 while serving as heir to his father, former leader Kim Jong-il, citing an inscription on a stone monument visible in released photographs.
During his stop at the Ministry of Public Security, Kim stressed the agency’s duty to “guarantee by law and arms” the work of the ruling party and government, which he said are committed to defending North Korea’s socialist system and improving the people’s well-being.
In his separate visits to the Supreme Court and the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office, Kim urged officials to further reinforce the socialist legal order by fully applying the party’s ideology, KCNA added.
The consecutive visits to the country’s security and judicial organs — responsible for surveillance, law enforcement and legal oversight — were portrayed by state media as part of broader efforts to strengthen internal control.
