North Korean Policy Elites - Defense Technical Information Center

maintaining strict control over the KPA. The belief is that if major units were allowed to
communicate horizontally, they could unite and possibly stage a coup.
The flow of information moves through a convoluted, almost Byzantine at times, series
of paths controlled by different organizations with diverse agendas and priorities, in a manner
that is quite frequently redundant and inefficient. As information flows upward toward the
military and power-holding elites, it is processed through organizational, political, and cultural
dynamics that distort and misrepresent its nature and reality.
The internal dynamics of the various intelligence and internal security agencies are such
that the agencies are in competition with one another and do not readily share information.
Therefore, each only possesses a “piece of the puzzle” from which to produce reports or
briefings that are presented to the senior leadership. This has often resulted in the duplication of
effort and a waste of precious resources, with operations frequently displaying overlapping and
sometimes conflicting areas of responsibilities. Additionally, there appears to be a political
competition among these agencies to accomplish “feats” in their anti-ROK operations in order to
celebrate important domestic events (e.g., the anniversary of the KWP) or to ingratiate
themselves with Kim Il-song or Kim Chong-il. 25 This situation has arisen because of the manner
in which the intelligence and internal security organizations have evolved over the past fifty
years and the fact that Kim Il-song and Kim Chong-il employ the various organizations as a
means of preventing any person or faction from becoming too powerful and threatening their
control.
Viewed in its most simplified form, information flows towards Kim Chong-il through
three principal channels: KWP, the National Defense Commission, and the Cabinet. Each
provides a distinctively tailored, often redundant and competitive conduit of processed
information. At the uppermost levels, members of the military and power-holding elite unevenly
overlay these channels.
Within the KWP, internal raw information is gathered from party members and
organizations placed throughout the nation and the government and within the military. It is
forwarded upwards through a dizzying array of departments and bureaus, where it is processed
and refined within stringent guidelines established by the Central Committee. The Central
Military Committee and Organization and Guidance Department are the most powerful entities
within the KWP. Along with the National Defense Commission’s General Political Bureau, these
organizations form a triumvirate within the KWP. As the semi-processed information enters
25
Author interview data; and Chon, Shi-yong, “Security Agency Suspects North Korea Plotting Terrorism to Strain
Ties,” Korea Herald, July 10, 1998.
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