North Korean secret police
Law enforcement agency
The
Ministry of State Security of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
[a]
(
Korean
: 조선민주주의인민공화국 國家保衛省) is the
secret police
agency of
North Korea
. It is an autonomous agency of the
North Korean government
reporting directly to the
Supreme Leader
.
[2]
[3]
In addition to its internal security duties, it is involved in the operation of North Korea's
concentration camps
, prisons and various other hidden activities.
The agency is reputed to be one of the most brutal secret police forces in the world, and has been involved in numerous
human rights abuses
.
[3]
It is one of two agencies which provides security or protection to North Korean officials and VIPs alongside the
Supreme Guard Command
.
[3]
[5]
History
[
edit
]
In 1945, the DPRK Security was established, being attached to the "Police Department".
[6]
In 1948, it became Ministry of Internal Affairs (
Korean
:
內務省 政治保衛局
) with the Bureau of Political Protection attached.
[6]
In February 1949, it became the Political Security Agency (
Korean
:
政治保衛部로
). On September 12, 1949, Bowman Lee Chang-ok, a violent man,
[
citation needed
]
was purged and reorganized and absorbed into social safety.
In September 1948, the National Political Affairs Department, which specializes in political in the North Korean region, was newly established.
On August 20, 1949, however, after Lee Chang-ok, the deputy secretary of the Republic of Korea, escaped from Haeju, South Korea, along with
Kim Kang
and others, the organization was abolished after a massive purge. It was integrated into the Ministry of Social Safety (later known as the
Ministry of People's Security
). In 1951 it was renamed to Social Security Political Security Agency. In 1952, Department of Homeland Security. In 1962, it became Social and Political Security Agency (
Korean
:
社會安全性 政治保衛局
). The SSD was created in 1973, being separated from the
Ministry of Public Security
.
[7]
[8]
Some defectors
[
who?
]
and sources
[
who?
]
have suggested that unlike its
Eastern Bloc
counterparts, State Security functions are actually conducted by several larger and different security bodies that operate under the
Workers' Party of Korea
(WPK) or the
Korean People's Army
(KPA, the North Korean armed forces), each with its own unique responsibilities and classified names that are referred to by code (e.g.
Room 39
), and that the agency is little more than a hollow shell used by the elite to coordinate their activities and provide cover for them.
[
citation needed
]
The post of Security Department head was left vacant after Minister
Ri Chun-su
's death in 1987, although it was
de facto
if not
de jure
controlled by
Kim Jong-il
and the WPK
Organization and Guidance Department
he headed.
[9]
In 1998, the MSS migrated under the
National Defence Commission
, also chaired by Kim Jong-il.
[9]
Finally, in 2007, it was transferred under the WPK Administration Department, whose first vice director became responsible of the MSS daily work, but it continued to have obligations towards the Organization and Guidance Department.
[9]
In November 2011, it was reported that
General
U Tong-chuk
had been appointed permanent minister of State Security,
[10]
the first of this kind since 1987, filling a post left unoccupied for 24 years. This was almost concurrent with General
Ri Myong-su
's appointment as minister of
People's Security
. Other sources also claimed that
Kim Jong-un
worked at the State Security Department before and/or after his anointment as
heir apparent
in September 2010.
[11]
Kim Won-hong
was appointed minister in April 2012 as the position was restored following
Kim Jong-il's death
.
[12]
He served as Kim Jong-un's aide until February 2017 when he was allegedly dismissed for filing false reports to Kim Jong-un and mishandling an aide of Kim Jong-un. He was formally replaced in October 2017 at a
WPK central committee
plenum by
Jong Kyong-thaek
.
[13]
So Tae-ha
is the vice minister, while
Kim Chang-sop
serves as the head of the political department of the ministry.
[14]
On October 21, 2021, the MSS was instructed not to surveil North Koreans living near the Chinese-North Korean border who are known to be free from any ideological suspicions.
[15]
Duties
[
edit
]
The Ministry of State Security is tasked to investigate political and economic crimes in North Korea, especially for the former on crimes against the
Kim family
.
[8]
It's also tasked to conduct VIP protection duties for North Korean diplomats and employees who work in various North Korean embassies, consulates and other foreign missions abroad.
[8]
The Ministry is known to link up with various government ministries and agencies to help them with their various missions.
[8]
Agency directors
[
edit
]
Ranks
[
edit
]
Rank
|
Insignia
|
General
|
|
Colonel General
|
|
Lieutenant General
|
|
Major General
|
|
Senior Colonel
|
|
Colonel
|
|
Commander
|
|
Major
|
|
Captain
|
|
Senior Lieutenant
|
|
Lieutenant
|
|
Junior Lieutenant
|
|
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Other sources indicate that the agency's name is known as the State Security Department according to authors like Joseph Bermudez
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
Library of Congress Country Studies
- ^
a
b
c
Kirby, Michael Donald
;
Biserko, Sonja
;
Darusman, Marzuki
(February 7, 2014).
Report of the detailed findings of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea - A/HRC/25/CRP.1
.
United Nations Human Rights Council
.
Archived
from the original on February 27, 2014.
- ^
Bermudez, Joseph S. Jr. (2005).
"SIGINT, EW, and EIW in the Korean People's Army: an Overview of Development and Organization"
(PDF)
. In Mansourov, Alexandre Y. (ed.).
Bytes and Bullets: Information Technology Revolution and National Security on the Korean Peninsula
. Honolulu: Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. pp. 234?275.
OCLC
977455303
.
- ^
a
b
"How the North is run: The secret police"
.
NK News
. July 24, 2018. Archived from
the original
on March 11, 2019.
- ^
"Everything We Know About the State Security Department, North Korea's Secret Service"
.
Showbiz Cheat Sheet
. April 28, 2018. Archived from
the original
on November 30, 2020
. Retrieved
July 31,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"State Security Department"
.
North Korea Leadership Watch
.
- ^
a
b
c
"U Tong Chuk Appointed Minister of State Security"
.
North Korea Leadership Watch
. November 12, 2011. Archived from
the original
on January 19, 2012.
- ^
"General U Upped"
.
Intelligence Online
. November 10, 2011.
- ^
"NIC: Kim Jong-un in charge of intelligence"
.
North Korean Economy Watch
. April 21, 2011.
- ^
"Top 4 N.Korean Military Officials Fall Victim to Shakeup"
.
The Chosun Ilbo
. November 30, 2012
. Retrieved
December 1,
2012
.
- ^
"Choe Ryong Hae to OGD? [revised 13 JAN 2018]"
.
North Korea Leadership Watch
.
- ^
Zwirko, Colin (December 28, 2018).
"North Korean leadership shakeups revealed in latest MOU reference book release"
.
NK News
. Retrieved
March 7,
2019
.
- ^
"Kim Jong Un orders security agency to avoid 'excessive' surveillance of N. Koreans in border regions"
.
Daily NK
. October 21, 2021.
Sources
[
edit
]
- Bermudez, Joseph S. (2001).
Shield of the Great Leader. The Armed Forces of North Korea
. The Armed Forces of Asia. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
ISBN
1-86448-582-5
.