A/HRC/25/CRP.1 and family background followed, such as the 1983-84 citizenship identification card renewal project. 275. The highest songbun was awarded to family members of guerrillas who fought with Kim Il-sung against Japanese forces (although many of them were eventually subject to purges over the years). • One former high-level official explained to the Commission that he knew of his songbun status since he was about 10 years old as there had been a certificate in his family home about his grandfather’s involvement in the Korean War. He was also told by his family not to play or associate with those of a lower status. He grew up believing that a high songbun meant that one was closer to the Kim family.293 276. The lowest songbun was given to, among others, formerly wealthy industrialists, alleged spies, Catholics and Buddhists. In effect, a family’s history even before the establishment of the DPRK pre-determined a citizen’s destiny in the DPRK. 277. In the past, songbun was the key factor determining the course of every citizen from birth. Higher songbun determined whether a person could gain access to the army (particularly the more elite units), university and the Workers’ Party of Korea—necessary preconditions to any future career in public service. Conversely, those with lower songbun were often assigned to jobs in mining and farming, and their descendants often were excluded from higher education. Hard work, individual ability and personal political loyalty provided only limited opportunity to improve one´s songbun. However, conduct deemed to be politically disloyal could destroy the favourable songbun of individuals and their entire family. 278. The determination of songbun is recorded in a comprehensive resident registration system with detailed files on all adult citizens and their families. The systematic compilation of these files by security agencies and institutions of the Workers’ Party of Korea is not a transparent process, and determinations cannot be contested.294 Moreover, official discrimination under the Songbun system is also an intergenerational phenomenon, where an individual’s classification is not only determined by his or her personal conduct, but also by the songbun classifications derived from more than one generation of the person’s extended family. Therefore, a system of perpetual discrimination on the ground of birth, akin to a caste-based system, has emerged in the DPRK. 279. The existence and relevance of songbun status does not appear to have been formally encoded in law. However, it tacitly reverberates in constitutional references to the working people becoming the masters of society and exhortations that all citizens and organs of the state should struggle staunchly against class enemies.295 The concept is also invoked in internal guidance and training documents.296 Former security and party officials interviewed by the Commission indicated how consideration of songbun prominently featured in important decisions relating to a person. For example, a former official explained to the Commission that the Ministry of Public Security color-coded files according to a person’s songbun. The files of core class families were placed in red folders, 293 294 295 296 TSH019. TJH022, TJH023. DPRK Constitution, articles 8 and 162. The 1993 Ministry of Social Safety publication of a document entitled, “Resident Registration Project Reference Manual” issued a set of instructions for resident registration investigators to use during the conduct of their songbun investigations. See Robert Collins, “Marked for Life: Songbun North Korea’s Classification System”, Committee on Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), 2012. 77