Desperate N.Korea Cracks down on S.Korean Influence

The North Korean regime is cracking down yet again on corrupting South Korean influences in increasingly frantic attempts to divert attention from its own failings.

The National Intelligence Service told the National Assembly Intelligence Committee on Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered a more aggressive defense of "socialism" that entails a widespread crackdown on South Korean-style clothing, parlance and behavior among young North Koreans.

People Power Party lawmaker Ha Tae-keung quoted the NIS as saying the popularity of South Korean TV dramas and music in North Korea has led to an increasing use of South Korean behaviors and fashion.

But he added that North Korean youngsters keep defying the rules. Even lovers who embrace in the street can be accused of anti-revolutionary behavior, and using South Korean phrases can land people in prison for up to two years.

The crusty, backward regime is clearly worried that young North Koreans pose a danger to its survival. They grew up buying South Korean products in open-air markets and accessing foreign information and could yet spell the collapse of the Kim regime, which has run the economy into the ground.

Last December, it introduced a law that makes use of South Korean-style expressions and music punishable with hard labor.

Kim last week fired several senior officials for unspecified mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis, and state media have been spewing out dire warnings against any slackening in revolutionary fervor.