Pyongyang’s new strategy: Exploiting S. Korea’s political divisions and weakened NGOs
The National Reunification Institute, previously under the United Front Department, has been renamed the Institute of Enemy State Studies
By Lee Sang-yong
- July 22, 2025
DAILY NK
The National Reunification Institute, previously under the United Front Department, has been renamed the Institute of Enemy State Studies
By Lee Sang-yong
- July 22, 2025
DAILY NK
The Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported on Aug. 26 that North Korean Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un conducted on-site guidance at several local industrial factory construction sites on Aug. 24 and 25. /Photo=Rodong Sinmun, News1
North Korea has adopted a cautious approach to the new South Korean administration’s conciliatory gestures—including suspending loudspeaker broadcasts at the border, asking private groups to stop launching propaganda balloons, and returning fishermen who drifted across the maritime boundary. But the regime is also studying changing attitudes toward unification in South Korea and shifts in its civil society.
A source in North Korea told Daily NK recently that North Korea’s Institute of Enemy State Studies is focusing its analysis on how South Korean youth view unification and the declining resources of NGOs that work on North Korean human rights.
Specifically, the institute argues that South Korean young people’s indifference or hostility toward North Korea represents a move toward “de-ethnification.” Its analysts say these changes go beyond simple disinterest in unification—they show that the sense of shared ethnic identity is itself weakening.
Behind closed doors, North Korean leaders believe that South Korean youth’s psychological distance from North Korea actually helps their strategy of creating divisions within South Korean society and undermining unification narratives.
“The thinking here is that South Korean young people’s growing tendency to reject unification or see North Korea as ‘different from us’ creates openings for the North to more easily conduct information and psychological warfare around the ‘two-state narrative.’ That’s why the Institute of Enemy State Studies has made this a key research priority,” the source explained.
The institute is also closely watching the financial struggles and reduced activity of South Korean NGOs focused on North Korean human rights. It’s evaluating whether these organizations can survive based on concrete factors like their dependence on foreign funding, how often they’ve been active recently, and whether they might receive direct government support.
“Analysts at the Institute of Enemy State Studies are paying attention to the fact that organizations that have long worked on North Korean human rights issues struggle to stay open without overseas funding,” the source said.
Turning weakness into opportunity
Importantly, the institute sees this trend as a “strategic opportunity” that will likely weaken opposition from South Korean society and the international community to North Korean repression.
“In the past, even small increases in repression would trigger protests from these organizations, prompting international responses. But the institute believes that as these groups become less active, that kind of pressure will weaken, giving the regime more room to increase repression,” the source said.
This shows how North Korea views the growing psychological distance in South Korean society and the potential decline of NGO activity as key elements in the South Korea strategy it’s developing. North Korea reportedly plans to finalize this strategy by October after carefully monitoring these trends.
The source explained that North Korea will likely develop propaganda emphasizing South Korea’s deep political divisions, young people’s disinterest in North Korea and unification, and the weakening of North Korea-focused NGOs as examples of chaos and instability in the South Korean system. This internal propaganda would send the message that “we are more unified” to strengthen the North Korean regime.
“The Institute of Enemy State Studies is currently crafting a strategy to use these signs of South Korean chaos to reinforce North Koreans’ disgust with the South. It’s not just analyzing—it’s also creating materials for the party’s propaganda campaigns. The strategy aims to convince North Koreans that the South Korean way is wrong,” the source said.
The institute’s existence was first revealed by North Korean media last November.
The source said that the National Reunification Institute, previously under the United Front Department, has been renamed the Institute of Enemy State Studies and placed under Bureau 10 of the Workers’ Party Central Committee. These changes align with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s two-state doctrine.
The institute now treats South Korea as a hostile state rather than a unification partner, focusing on analyzing competition with South Korea and the threat it poses.
North Korea has adopted a cautious approach to the new South Korean administration’s conciliatory gestures—including suspending loudspeaker broadcasts at the border, asking private groups to stop launching propaganda balloons, and returning fishermen who drifted across the maritime boundary. But the regime is also studying changing attitudes toward unification in South Korea and shifts in its civil society.
A source in North Korea told Daily NK recently that North Korea’s Institute of Enemy State Studies is focusing its analysis on how South Korean youth view unification and the declining resources of NGOs that work on North Korean human rights.
Specifically, the institute argues that South Korean young people’s indifference or hostility toward North Korea represents a move toward “de-ethnification.” Its analysts say these changes go beyond simple disinterest in unification—they show that the sense of shared ethnic identity is itself weakening.
Behind closed doors, North Korean leaders believe that South Korean youth’s psychological distance from North Korea actually helps their strategy of creating divisions within South Korean society and undermining unification narratives.
“The thinking here is that South Korean young people’s growing tendency to reject unification or see North Korea as ‘different from us’ creates openings for the North to more easily conduct information and psychological warfare around the ‘two-state narrative.’ That’s why the Institute of Enemy State Studies has made this a key research priority,” the source explained.
The institute is also closely watching the financial struggles and reduced activity of South Korean NGOs focused on North Korean human rights. It’s evaluating whether these organizations can survive based on concrete factors like their dependence on foreign funding, how often they’ve been active recently, and whether they might receive direct government support.
“Analysts at the Institute of Enemy State Studies are paying attention to the fact that organizations that have long worked on North Korean human rights issues struggle to stay open without overseas funding,” the source said.
Turning weakness into opportunity
Importantly, the institute sees this trend as a “strategic opportunity” that will likely weaken opposition from South Korean society and the international community to North Korean repression.
“In the past, even small increases in repression would trigger protests from these organizations, prompting international responses. But the institute believes that as these groups become less active, that kind of pressure will weaken, giving the regime more room to increase repression,” the source said.
This shows how North Korea views the growing psychological distance in South Korean society and the potential decline of NGO activity as key elements in the South Korea strategy it’s developing. North Korea reportedly plans to finalize this strategy by October after carefully monitoring these trends.
The source explained that North Korea will likely develop propaganda emphasizing South Korea’s deep political divisions, young people’s disinterest in North Korea and unification, and the weakening of North Korea-focused NGOs as examples of chaos and instability in the South Korean system. This internal propaganda would send the message that “we are more unified” to strengthen the North Korean regime.
“The Institute of Enemy State Studies is currently crafting a strategy to use these signs of South Korean chaos to reinforce North Koreans’ disgust with the South. It’s not just analyzing—it’s also creating materials for the party’s propaganda campaigns. The strategy aims to convince North Koreans that the South Korean way is wrong,” the source said.
The institute’s existence was first revealed by North Korean media last November.
The source said that the National Reunification Institute, previously under the United Front Department, has been renamed the Institute of Enemy State Studies and placed under Bureau 10 of the Workers’ Party Central Committee. These changes align with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s two-state doctrine.
The institute now treats South Korea as a hostile state rather than a unification partner, focusing on analyzing competition with South Korea and the threat it poses.
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