The anti-reactionary thought law

rters of all camps managed by the Ministry of Social Security and the Ministry of State Security.” […]

North Korea has recently enacted the “anti-reactionary thought law,” and is punishing violators with heavy sentences such as hard labor and the death penalty. 

It is also noteworthy that Kim Jong Un put strong education and discipline at the forefront of both the Eighth Party Congress and the second plenary meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party. Kim emphasized the need to get rid of “every form of anti-socialism, non-socialism, sectarianism, bureaucracy, corruption, tax evasion and all kinds of criminal acts.” Censorship and crackdowns are expected to be further strengthened throughout North Korean society. 

North Korea may be attempting to send violators of the new law to political prison camps by conducting a large-scale crackdown on anti-socialism and non-socialism. 

“The newly established Party censorship divisions will undertake a massive project to turn the entire country red [socialist]” and that “those who oppose the declaration of war against anti-socialism and non-socialism will be punished regardless of their position, merits or songbun status,” the source said, using a term to describe social status in the country.

The source explained that “the party and the judicial, counterintelligence and security agencies have decided to punish anti-socialist and non-socialist actors by treating them as anti-party and counter-revolutionary elements.”

The move can be interpreted as North Korea aiming to promote internal unity through a powerful crackdown on matters that could lead to people breaking away from the regime ideologically. 

Or it could be interpreted as further evidence that North Korea is determined to maintain its position, despite fierce opposition, as the worst country in the world for human rights and freedom.

As Christopher Hitchens said:

The North Korean state was founded in 1950/51. That's the year 1984 was published for the first time. You think, could it be that someone handed a Korean translation to Kim il Sung and said, "Do you think we could make this fly?"… 

And here we are now with the thought police. It's still going according to plan.