North Korean Policy Elites - Defense Technical Information Center

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Newspapers The DPRK’s premier news outlet is the KWP’s Nodong Sinmun (Daily Worker), which publishes six pages every day of the year. Its articles - especially the editorials and commentaries - signal the direction of the Kim regime’s thinking. As one would expect, any newspaper in which the editorials are the main attraction must be very boring indeed, and most North Koreans avoid reading Nodong Sinmun, although they are required to study selected articles as part of weekly political study sessions. Circulation is nominally rated at a million copies, but newsprint shortages almost certainly prevent the paper from reaching this announced circulation. In 2003, the newspaper became available on an intranet home page where cadres are urged to read it first thing in the morning in order to “learn about the party’s intention and demands in a timely manner.” 44 The newspaper has 12 departments, with names like Propaganda for Juche Theory, Party History Cultivation, Revolution Cultivation, Party Life, Industry, Agriculture, International, South Korea, and of course, Editorials. A sample of the content (for the randomly chosen date of February 4, 2002 (Juche 91)) is illustrative: 45 • Page 1 is the editorial page. To the left and right of the title are displayed wise words or slogans of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. A commentary is spread across the top of the page (“Let’s Be Fighters with an Iron Will”). Most of the articles on this page refer explicitly to the teachings or activities of one of the Kims: Kim Jong-il sends letters of New Year’s greetings to a list of foreign political officials, beginning with the Chinese, then Russians, then Cubans, and ending with an official from the Communist party of Brazil; the late Kim Il-sung receives a doctoral degree from and honorary membership in the Belarus Academy of International Information and Technology (so does Kim Jongil); Kim sends telegraphic New Year’s congratulations to a list of “second-tier” world leaders; February is the month to show loyalty to Kim (his birthday is the 16 th ); a nationwide farmer’s loyalty march has begun [they will converge on Pyongyang carrying letters of loyalty]. • Page 2 is similar to page 1, with articles and photographs about the two Kims. On this particular date, the entire page is given over to photographs of the two Kims under the heading “Heaven-Created Military Generals Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il.” • Page 3 is devoted to domestic stories: organizations that have reportedly reached or exceeded their production goals, examples of heroic workers, and descriptions of how the party’s correct policies are being realized throughout the country. On this date, the theme 44 “Relay Party’s Ideology and Intention to the Masses in a More Timely, Faster Way.” According to the article, one model functionary, “after he read, first thing in the morning, the editorial that urged a great upsurge in building a powerful state with the pride of having splendidly celebrated the 55 th anniversary of the Republic’s founding . . . carried out political work by going out to many cooperative farms bustling with corn harvests and letting them know the tasks suggested in the official party newspaper’s editorial.” 45 Nodong Sinmun may be read, when it finally arrives, in the Library of Congress’s East Asian Collection. III-16
is the environment: “Let’s Build a Socialist Paradise with a Clean Environment According to the Instructions of General Kim Jong-il”; “Let’s Plant More Trees”; along with an article about how a model county manages its water resources and plants trees, articles about farm mechanization, and at the bottom of the page brief paragraphs of news from a dozen government ministries. • Page 4 is devoted to arts and culture. The unifying theme on this date is the military: a reader’s contribution on “how our military is the best, and how we should support the military”; a poem praising the motherland; a description of how the military is like a big, happy family; an article on military-first youth patriotism. • Page 5 is the pan-Korean or Korean unification page. “February is the designated month of South Korean people’s joy and longing for Kim Jong-il”; “South Koreans Praise Kim Jong-il”; “Let’s Defeat South Korean Divisionists”; “The United States Should Stay Out of the Korean Unification Issue”; “Japanese-Korean Youth Unite!”; “President Bush Is a Warmonger (divisionist).” • Page 6, the international page, features articles praising North Korea and denigrating other countries, including “Banzai to Kim Jong-il, Sun of the 21 st Century” and “US Underhanded Approach to the Nuclear Issue.” In other articles on the page, readers are informed about support for North Korea coming from Egypt, Russia, and ASEAN; countries that hate the United States; U.S. armed hegemony; U.S.-Russia policy conflict; and the failure of IT globalization (viewed as a form of Western hegemony). Minju Choson (Democratic Korea) is the paper of the government administration. It publishes four pages daily, with a maximum circulation of 600,000. It informs readers about government policies and urges their implementation. Many Minju Choson articles are indistinguishable from those published in Nodong Sinmun. Pyongyang Sinmun (Pyongyang Daily) is the Pyongyang city paper, publishing four pages daily with a circulation of 50,000 or less. It carries more entertainment and cultural articles than Nodong Sinmun. The daily paper of the KPA is Choson Inmingun Sinmun (Korean People’s Army Daily), with information tailored to the needs of military personnel. The daily paper of the Kim Il-sung Socialist Youth League is Chongnyon Chonwi (Youth Vanguard). Inasmuch as the party, the government, the military, and the youth organizations are the primary organizations in North Korea, these daily papers cover just about all of the population. Three other publications may be of interest to the North Korean elite. Kulloja (Worker), the theoretical monthly journal of the party, publishes explanations and justifications for party policies, Kyongje Yongu (Economic Studies) is a quarterly journal explaining and rationalizing North Korean economic policies; Kyongje Yongu also tries to teach its readers the rudiments of market economics and international trade, on the theory that North Korea must be prepared to deal with non-socialist economies - until capitalism destroys itself and the world embraces socialism. Chollima, the DPRK’s only general-interest magazine, is dedicated to instilling III-17
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INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE ANALYSES Nort
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INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE ANALYSES IDA
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CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY & INTROD
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To write accurately about North Kor
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technocrats, provincial and county
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PREFACE This paper will examine in
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ABBREVIATIONS AGI CCSKA COMSEC DoD
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information streams, and from him t
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within the hands of a few individua
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and whether or not he will embarras
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to the lowest-levels of the KPA. As
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strengthening of all armed forces,
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esearch institutes and “think tan
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The primary missions of the Reconna
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communication that generally fall o
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of the State Security Department or
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maintaining strict control over the
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agencies in the ROK and Japan began
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The Guard and Security Commands, wh
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eports that are funneled up through
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Complicating the entire “Kim-cent
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Within the military, this dynamic c
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him that all significant orders and
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Until the 1990s, the electronic med
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II. THE NORTH KOREAN LEADERSHIP: SY
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TABLES 1. Key Family Members in the
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The factional struggles in North Ko
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A. INTRODUCTION By definition, a to
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C. THE TECHNOLOGY OF POWER A Party
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document control bureaus in each mi
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Originally implemented in 1994 and
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Table II-1. Key Family Members in t
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of associates who trace their relat
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September 9, 2003, showed a change
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Chart II-2: Secretariat 5. Kye Ung-
Page 83 and 84: Members 1. Yi Ul-sul 4. Yi Yong-mu
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Page 87 and 88: Table II-7. Kim Chong-il’s Person
Page 89 and 90: chance to unfold. In terms of syste
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Page 95 and 96: D. FLOW OF INFORMATION George Kenna
Page 97 and 98: about things that affect their care
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Page 101 and 102: For the rest of the North Korean le
Page 103 and 104: the focus for not only a significan
Page 105 and 106: At the 11 th Supreme People’s Ass
Page 107 and 108: There is little doubt that one of t
Page 109 and 110: decision-making process. Moreover,
Page 111: III. THE WELL-INFORMED CADRE RALPH
Page 115 and 116: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY DEFINITIONS AND A
Page 117: greater access to first-hand inform
Page 120 and 121: The first question addressed by thi
Page 122 and 123: But this lack of enthusiasm is prob
Page 124 and 125: as the 1950s. 16 The security organ
Page 126 and 127: Another way to look at divisions wi
Page 128 and 129: Because the Kim regime governs acco
Page 130 and 131: guess is that anyone who rises in t
Page 132 and 133: But even though the media serve as
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Page 138 and 139: Page 2: • Kim Jong-suk’s develo
Page 140 and 141: This selection of news items presen
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Page 146 and 147: also countries surrounding the Kore
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Page 152 and 153: eceived with little thought and has
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Page 156 and 157: cognitive dissonance, particular ca
Page 159: IV. INSIDE NORTH KOREA’S BLACK BO
Page 163 and 164: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The North Korean
Page 165 and 166: A. BETTER, MERRIER, MORE HOPEFUL LI
Page 167 and 168: In contrast, the optimists believe
Page 169 and 170: to the throne. The State Council us
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Page 175 and 176: Second, the principal objective of
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Page 179 and 180: controlling some of North Korea’s
Page 181 and 182: also against the second-tier family
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“National Security Establishment
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October 1980. Many of them (Yon Hyo
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severe draught in 1988 and the dram
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The advent of the “Songun Era”
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IV-30
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Bearing in mind Kim Jong Il’s rec
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Table IV-2. Composition of the Nort
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Cabinet Posts 10 th SPA 11 th SPA R
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Eastern Europe. That was reportedly
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Table IV-5. Leading Ideologues Insi
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Table IV-7. Regional Origins of Top
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“Foreign Wind” The “foreign w
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Table IV-10. Some of the Most Influ
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Table IV-11. The North-South “Han
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Song Sok Hwan Vice-Minister Cha Sun
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Table IV-13. Korean-American “Int
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content and government monitoring.
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Northern security, military, and pa
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APPENDIX B TONGIL STREET FREE MARKE
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V. REACHING INTO NORTH KOREA DAVID
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY North Korea is no
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message right to Kim Jong-il, and m
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isk escape from the hermit kingdom.
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Society is divided into three broad
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contradictions.” 17 This makes se
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Internet is not specifically mentio
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led to a training program for young
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North Korea’s exports from legiti
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een the biggest buyers of ivory ove
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worker who travels throughout North
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If we want to reach into North Kore
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conversations with the correct mix
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Although the future of cellular tel
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There are a host of other things on
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Each of the five papers in this col
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promotions) and punishments (e.g.,
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although presumably all calls are m
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cultural rules.” Given the “str
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Speaking of Kim, whom does he consu
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Terms of Reference: North Korean Po
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Joseph S. Bermudez Jr. is an intern
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APPENDIX C ASIAN VIEWS OF NORTH KOR
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In any case, the reforms provide a
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View from Seoul The single most imp
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