North Korean House of Cards

2001 and 2002. He served as the Organizational Secretary on the Anju
City KWP Committee until 2009 when, with the assistance of Jang
Song-taek and Kim Kyong-hui, he returned to Pyongyang to work in the
NDC. In 2010, he appeared in public as a close aide to Kim Jong-un. 330
• Kang Sang-chun (2002-2011) had a relationship with Kim Jong-il
dating back to when they were classmates in the Political Economy
Department at Kim Il-sung University. After university, Kang entered
the Guard Command, eventually being assigned to the Second Bureau,
which was responsible for the protection of the heir apparent. He
began service in Kim Jong-il’s Personal Secretariat in the early 1980s
as a division chief in charge of Kim’s protocol and protection. He later
became the Director of the Secretariat’s Building Management Section,
which was responsible for managing Kim’s overseas slush fund and
procuring items for the Kim family. In 2002, Kang Sang-chun became
Director of the SOCC. 331 In 2006, Kang was reportedly arrested
for money laundering in Macau by Chinese police. 332 The affair was
resolved quietly and Kang returned to North Korea and continued in his
position as head of the SOCC. According to several defectors, he has
continued in this post under Kim Jong-un.
The source of much speculation by Pyongyang-watchers, Kim Jong-il’s
Personal Secretariat was where the formal and informal systems of power came
together. Wielding influence by virtue of its gate-keeping function, this office
was often compared to the royal order system that operated during the Chosun
Dynasty (1392–1910). Kim Jong-il’s Personal Secretariat apparently had no official
sanction and was never mentioned in North Korean media. It received, classified,
and facilitated documents addressed to the Chairman, Kim Jong-il, and then
issued instructions. 333 It also administered Kim’s schedule, itineraries, protocol, and
logistics, and liaised with the Guard Command to ensure his security. Because the
330 This biography is based in large part on information from North Korea Leadership Watch.
331 “Kang Sang-chun, New Director of the Secretariat for General Secretary Kim Jong-il,” Yonhap
News Agency, April 25, 2002.
332 Min Dong-Yong, “Kang Sang-chun Rumored to Have Been Arrested in China is Kim Jongil’s
Butler—Manager of Slush Funds,” Dong-A Ilbo, January 28, 2006. A frequent visitor to Macau on
business related to the Kim family funds, Kang was reportedly detained during the period when Kim
Jong-il was making an unofficial visit to China in January 2006.
333 Lee Gyo-Gwan, “Kim Jong-il Secretariat, at the Center of Power although not Listed as an
Official Organization,” The Chosun Ilbo, April 15, 2001. For a detailed discussion of Kim’s Personal Secretariat,
including a list of presumed personnel, see Ken E. Gause, North Korea Under Kim Chong-il: Power,
Politics, and Prospects for Change, op. cit.
Ken E. Gause
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