At the antipodes of happiness. Faced with an unprecedented wave of suicides in his country, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un found no other response for his people than to link this gesture of desperation to a “betrayal of socialism”. According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), which reports statistics from South Korea’s intelligence agency, the number of suicides in North Korea has exploded in a year.
We don’t know much about what is happening under Kim Jong-un’s dictatorship, and our colleagues, despite their well-informed sources, have not been able to provide a figure on the number of suicides that have occurred in North Korea since the beginning of the year. However, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported in late May that the number of people who took their own lives had “increased by about 40% compared to last year.”
Secret meetings and spooky statistics
An alarming realization that also worries the North Korean government. Kim Jong-un therefore transmitted a “secret order” to local authorities aimed at preventing suicides. In this secret decree, the leader describes the suicide as a “betrayal of socialism” and demands or instructs local party officials to take preventive measures.
The decree in question was sent to the local authorities during confidential meetings in each province. Meetings at which other information was disseminated. For the case, which took place in North Hamgyong, statistics showed 35 suicides in Chongjin and Kyongsong counties since January. According to the RFA, most of these suicides involved entire families.
It is clear that the prevention policy has failed as no suitable solution has been proposed by the authorities. Because according to a local official who testified anonymously to our colleagues, the causes are endemic, such as extreme poverty. The same official claims that suicide in North Korea has a greater social impact than starvation. In response, Kim Jong-un assured that if prevention does not bear fruit, he will hold local authorities accountable.