Daily NK has acquired the full text of the Public Reporting System Law, which was revised by North Korea’s government in 2022.
The revised law bolsters a system that encourages North Koreans to voluntarily report criminal and other abnormal behavior. Notably, the revised law adds a section about threats to the safety of North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong Un.
The revised law broadens the scope of reporting from “anti-socialist phenomena” to “all kinds of unusual phenomena observed in one’s social context.”
“By broadening the scope of reporting from anti-regime areas to all of everyday life, the regime appears to be encouraging citizens to even report more mundane problems. The net of surveillance has expanded so that every part of society is now subject to reporting,” said Hwang Hyun-uk, senior researcher at Daily NK’s AND Center.
“The North Korean authorities are using these changes to more thoroughly monitor every potential threat to the system and to enlist citizens to play the role of voluntary monitors. The goal is to further reinforce the stability of the regime by building an all-encompassing system of surveillance,” Hwang explained.
The purpose of the Public Reporting System Law is to protect state sovereignty and the socialist system by establishing a reporting system for the entire populace. The consolidation of the reporting system through the latest revision of the law appears to reflect the North Korean authorities’ determination to eliminate any elements that could threaten the system or impair its maintenance.
Indeed, North Korea put considerable effort into emphasizing the duty to report and bolstering the reporting system in its revision of this law.
The regime appears to be emphasizing the mandatory nature of reporting so as to inculcate citizens with the idea that informing on others is a fundamental duty — and thereby motivating them to be more proactive about carrying out that duty.
“North Korea is reinforcing the idea that reporting is an important civic duty for maintaining state security and order, with the goal of better establishing reporting culture. By encouraging citizens to play the role of voluntary monitors, the state hopes to increase control,” Hwang said.
The revised law also establishes a reporting system for neighborhood watch units (Articles 10 and 11); enables patrols and regional authorities to collect reports (Article 13); and authorizes computerized reporting methods (Article 14). These changes broaden the scope of surveillance to neighborhood watch units and regions while enabling citizens to make reports online, building a multifaceted system of surveillance and reporting.
North Korean mobile phones are equipped with an app called “Report,” indicating that the online reporting system is expanding from intranet environments to mobile devices.
The revision to the law adds several new behaviors that should be reported: (1) threats to the safety of the supreme leader; (2) the influx of reactionary ideology and culture; (3) illegal border crossings; and (4) violations of disease control regulations and contact with suspicious items, birds and wild animals.
Among the new reportable behaviors, “threats to the safety of the supreme leader” appears at the very top of the list, emphasizing that safeguarding the regime is the top priority of the reporting system.
“By specifically categorizing the various critical threats to the North Korean regime, the revised law guides citizens to clearly understand the reporting priorities and to cooperate in protecting the regime,” Hwang said. “North Korea clearly intends to use these measures to exercise a high degree of control in areas such as leadership and regime purity and border and anti-epidemic discipline.”
The Korean version of the law is available here. The unofficial English translation of the law is available here.
Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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