North Korea Ramps Up Security To Protect Kim Jong Un Amid Rising Tensions With US And Allies

The North Korean administration has asked Pyongyang police to ramp up security nationwide to protect leader Kim Jong Un amid rising tension in the Korean peninsula with the U.S. and its allies.

What Happened: North Korean Ministry of Social Security ordered the country’s police and social safety agencies to create a tight surveillance network to identify problematic people and keep tabs on them, a source told Radio Free Asia.

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“They ordered that the police must remove all subjects who have illegally entered their jurisdiction and return them to their place of origin as soon as possible … and prevent problematic subjects in their jurisdiction from leaving to other areas,” the source said.

The directions to ramp up security for Kim came after the North Korean military on Wednesday fired artillery shells into waters off its coast to send a "serious warning" to South Korea, which recently conducted its annual Hoguk defense drills. 

“Search and patrol checks for problematic subjects should be conducted at least once each day in cooperation with security forces, special agencies, and the Worker-Peasant Red Guards,” the source told the publication. 

North Korean experts believe Kim may not rush his seventh nuclear test before the U.S. midterm elections, with hope pinned on former U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the top office.

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