North Korea: Walkers in the Era of Silence 1990s-early 2000s

North Korea: Walkers in the Era of Silence 1990s-early 2000s
Behind this silence was the context of the times: In the 1990s and early 2000s, the post-Cold War balance in Japan had broken down, and the situation in Northeast Asia was becoming unstable. Sporadic incidents of infiltration by North Korean agents occurred, and in 1997, a suspicious vessel was tracked by the Japan Coast Guard off the Noto Peninsula, but the vessel escaped. In the following incident in 1998, the Japan Coast Guard fired warning shots at a suspicious vessel, but the vessel fired a small rocket-propelled grenade, which caused a major shock to society.
In December 2001, a vessel believed to be a North Korean spy ship engaged the Japan Coast Guard in a fierce firefight in the waters southwest of Kyushu and sank. A suicide bomber, heavy weapons, and a map of Japan were found on the vessel, and it was clearly identified as a North Korean agent ship by the government and the media. Through these incidents, Japan was confronted with the reality that North Korean espionage activities are not a story of a distant country, but rather an extension of everyday life.
In Japan, the deterioration of public safety has been a daily issue as fears of foreign nationals and organized crime have increased. The increasing number of violent crimes committed by juveniles also became a social problem, and the 1997 Kobe child murders cast a deep shadow over society. In the midst of this growing social unrest, the mission of the Public Security Bureau expanded, and at the same time, extreme secrecy was demanded.
Much of the information handled was in the gray area, neither black nor white. The movements of North Korean agents, the purpose of suspicious vessels, and the coordination between organizations were fragmented and shaky, and the slightest error ran the risk of causing diplomatic problems. A thoughtless comment could damage national interests or even threaten human life. The people on the ground were acutely aware of this danger.
That is why silence was not an evasion, but rather a defense of one's duty and integrity. There are many situations in which not speaking out is the most accurate way to make a decision, and they have learned this. Their silence is not a rejection, but a thick curtain that quietly descends on the boundary between the state and the individual, and the sound of a door softly closing into the abyss of information.