North Korean House of Cards

of Kim’s death in 2011, it is rumored that his Personal Secretariat had a staff of
nearly 300, including a director, vice directors, department heads, guidance officials,
clerks, and secretaries.
Kim Jong-il’s Personal Secretariat had several directors since its creation.
However, only those since his formal designation as heir apparent in 1980 have been
made public. They are:
• Ri Myong-je (unknown-1992) was a cadre within the KWP PAD. His
relationship with Kim Jong-il most likely began in the 1960s, when Kim
joined the PAD, and continued into the 1970s, when Kim became KWP
Secretary for the PAD. While Ri’s formal designation as Director of Kim
Jong-il’s Secretarial Office did not occur until 1982, it is possible that his
tenure started in the early 1970s with the creation of the office. In 1992,
he stepped down due to illness and took up a post as a Party secretary
to the North Korean mission in France, where he received medical
treatment. He retired in the 1990s and died in 2007.
• Ri Song-bok (1992-2001) also came out of the KWP PAD, where he
was on the editorial staff of Nodong Sinmun. He reportedly formed a
close relationship with Kim Jong-il and took up the post of Director
of the SOCC in 1992. He served in this position until his death from
lung cancer in May 2001. 328
• Kim Jang-son (2001-2002) began his career as a Party cadre in the
MPAF External Affairs Bureau, which is responsible for interactions
between the KPA and foreign militaries. After serving as a Deputy
Military Attaché at the North Korean Embassy in Moscow in the early
1970s, he returned in 1980 to eventually head the MPAF External
Affairs Bureau. In 1984, he moved into the Central Committee apparatus,
becoming a Vice Director of the KWP Administrative Department. He
moved up to become Director, holding the post until the department
was merged into the KWP OGD in 1992. He joined Kim Jong-il’s
Personal Secretariat in the early 1990s, assuming the role of Chief of
Secretaries after Ri Song-bok’s death. 329 For unknown reasons, Kim was
relieved from his post and banished from Pyongyang sometime between
328 “Kim Jong-il Sends Wreath to Bier of Late Ri Song-bok,” KCNA, May 21, 2001.
329 Kim Jang-son’s ties to the ruling Kim family came through his wife, Ryu Chun-ok. She was
the daughter of Ryu Kyong-su, the former Commander of the 105th Tank Brigade and Hwang Sun-hui,
the Director of the Korean Revolution Museum, both of whom were partisan comrades of Kim Il-sung.
Ryu Chun-ok was also a close friend of Kim Kyong-hui, Kim Jong-il’s sister.
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