North Korea is once again attempting to maintain ideological control over its population by passing a new law banning the spread of certain foreign cultures and “further cementing” strict ideological policies.

On Friday, the presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), the country’s rubber-stamp parliament, held a plenary meeting that also passed laws boosting sci-tech policies, forestry policies and control over telecom networks.

In addition, the presidium announced that the next full session of the SPA will be held “in late January,” potentially providing clues about the date of the country’s upcoming Eighth Party Congress.

According to the state-run Korean