North Korean Policy Elites - Defense Technical Information Center

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within the hands of a few individuals enables Kim Chong-il, through the National Defense Commission, to easily maintain extremely firm control over all aspects of DPRK society and the flow of information. It also means that the decision-making process and poles of political power apparent in western nations are not present within the DPRK. Kim Chong-il’s Family and Close Associates National Defense Commission (NDC) Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) Ministry of People’s Armed Forces (MPAF) Kim Chong-il Power-holding Elite Military Elite Intelligence and Internal Security Services Cabinet Figure I-1. Military and Power-holding Elite There is a common misconception that during his forty-plus years as leader of the DPRK, Kim Il-sung was virtually impervious to the desires and concerns of the military, government, or people. Kim, while unquestionably “running the show,” always exercised control through, and shared power with, a very small tight-knit circle of power-holding elites, most of whom shared a common history reaching back to the days of the “anti-Japanese partisan struggle” of the 1930s and 1940s. And there always has existed a consensus-building and filtering mechanism within the DPRK leadership based principally upon this small power-holding group. The composition, effectiveness, and functioning of this mechanism have varied over time, especially during the 1990s with the passing of the old “partisan” leadership. I-2
Contrary to popular belief, it is highly unlikely that Kim Chong-il (or Kim Il-sung, were he alive today) would unilaterally employ nuclear weapons, initiate a war, or pursue a policy which directly threatened national survival without first gaining the consensus of this powerholding group. This did not preclude Kim Il-sung’s attempting to restructure or influence the power-holding group. He did so on numerous occasions throughout his career by purging his opposition. These purges, however, required a significant level of consensus-building among those engaged in the purging. Additionally, such shifts within the power-holding group have been long drawn-out affairs that have not been conducive to conducting national survival decision-making. Since the death of Kim Il-sung, Kim Chong-il has undertaken numerous significant changes in the power-holding group. With his elevation of the National Defense Commission as the ultimate power-holding group and the expansion of the “Military First” policy, the power of the military has assumed an historic high - even higher than that of the “Partisan Generals” of the late 1960s. 2 The process by which he has achieved this, however, has been selective and less disruptive than that frequently utilized by his father. The military elite within the DPRK should be understood to contain not only those individuals within the National Defense Commission holding military rank but also those military personnel situated within the broader power-holding elite. From an organizational standpoint this would include the MPAF leadership and extend down to the commanders of the Guard Command, Security Command, General Rear Services Bureau, General Staff Department, Korean People’s Navy Command, Korean People’s Air and Air Defense Command, Corps, and a small number of the General Staff Department’s major bureaus (e.g., Reconnaissance Bureau). As with military organizations throughout the world, the immediate staffs of the military elite can be viewed as having access to information considerably higher than their rank would typically suggest. The concepts of military elite and proximity to power can be viewed as being institutionalized within the KPA. As best as can be determined, promotions of all officers from battalion level and higher within the KPA require the personal approval of Kim Chong-il. Candidates’ names only reach Kim Chong-il after extensive background reviews by the KWP and Security Command, and with the personal recommendations of the individual’s battalion, brigade, division, and corps commanders. The two primary factors used to determine a candidate’s suitability by each level of command is whether that individual is politically reliable 2 For information on the period of the “Partisan Generals,” see: Bermudez Jr., Joseph S. North Korean Special Forces: Second Edition, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1998, pp. 64-68 and 90-93; Suh, Dae-sook. Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader, Colombia University Press, New York, 1988, pp. 211-231; Sung-joo, “North Korea’s Security Policy and Military Strategy,” in North Korea Today: Strategic and Domestic Issues, ed. Robert A Scalapino and Kim Jun-yop, University of California, Berkeley, 1983, pp. 144-163. I-3
Page 1 and 2: INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE ANALYSES Nort
Page 3: INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE ANALYSES IDA
Page 7: CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY & INTROD
Page 11 and 12: To write accurately about North Kor
Page 13: technocrats, provincial and county
Page 17: PREFACE This paper will examine in
Page 21: ABBREVIATIONS AGI CCSKA COMSEC DoD
Page 24 and 25: information streams, and from him t
Page 28 and 29: and whether or not he will embarras
Page 30 and 31: to the lowest-levels of the KPA. As
Page 32 and 33: strengthening of all armed forces,
Page 34 and 35: esearch institutes and “think tan
Page 36 and 37: The primary missions of the Reconna
Page 38 and 39: communication that generally fall o
Page 40 and 41: of the State Security Department or
Page 42 and 43: maintaining strict control over the
Page 44 and 45: agencies in the ROK and Japan began
Page 46 and 47: The Guard and Security Commands, wh
Page 48 and 49: eports that are funneled up through
Page 50 and 51: Complicating the entire “Kim-cent
Page 52 and 53: Within the military, this dynamic c
Page 54 and 55: him that all significant orders and
Page 56 and 57: Until the 1990s, the electronic med
Page 59: II. THE NORTH KOREAN LEADERSHIP: SY
Page 62 and 63: TABLES 1. Key Family Members in the
Page 64 and 65: The factional struggles in North Ko
Page 67 and 68: A. INTRODUCTION By definition, a to
Page 69 and 70: C. THE TECHNOLOGY OF POWER A Party
Page 71 and 72: document control bureaus in each mi
Page 73 and 74: Originally implemented in 1994 and
Page 75 and 76: 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-
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Members 1. Yi Ul-sul 4. Yi Yong-mu
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Table II-6. Kim Chong-il’s Princi
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Table II-7. Kim Chong-il’s Person
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chance to unfold. In terms of syste
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domestic policy arena, the split is
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At the second echelon of power, Kim
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D. FLOW OF INFORMATION George Kenna
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about things that affect their care
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(ID) and External Liaison (ELD) dep
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For the rest of the North Korean le
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the focus for not only a significan
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At the 11 th Supreme People’s Ass
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There is little doubt that one of t
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decision-making process. Moreover,
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III. THE WELL-INFORMED CADRE RALPH
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY DEFINITIONS AND A
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greater access to first-hand inform
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The first question addressed by thi
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But this lack of enthusiasm is prob
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as the 1950s. 16 The security organ
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Another way to look at divisions wi
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Because the Kim regime governs acco
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guess is that anyone who rises in t
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But even though the media serve as
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Newspapers The DPRK’s premier new
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motivation in its readers through m
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Page 2: • Kim Jong-suk’s develo
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This selection of news items presen
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in the wake of the U.S. propaganda
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the general audience in a two-step
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also countries surrounding the Kore
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that the war in Iraq was “a test
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and transform us internally through
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eceived with little thought and has
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outside world than the ordinary wor
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cognitive dissonance, particular ca
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IV. INSIDE NORTH KOREA’S BLACK BO
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The North Korean
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A. BETTER, MERRIER, MORE HOPEFUL LI
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In contrast, the optimists believe
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to the throne. The State Council us
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1976-1977, 4 and in 1986-1987 (see
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Bulgarian Trade Unions, after which
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Second, the principal objective of
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southward expansion, and, last but
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controlling some of North Korea’s
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also against the second-tier family
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Kim Sung-ae, who is Kim Il Sung’s
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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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