North Korean House of Cards

activities, and situation materials. 377 Kim’s Personal Secretariat prioritized the reports
and submitted them for his comment and approval. 378
According to elite defector accounts, Kim Jong-il used a series of formulaic
handwritten notations to convey his approval or disapproval of proposals and
reports. There were three main categories:
• Signed instructions (chin-pil ji-si) included a signature, a date, and
occasionally a written opinion. Such a document was referred to as
a handwritten instruction. By signing and dating the document, the
Leader signified that the contents of report documents should be
regarded as his intentions and instructions to be implemented as
written. The Leader would personally take responsibility for their
results. Such documents carried the weight of verbal instructions and
were implemented unconditionally.
• Signed documents (chin-pil mun-geon) included the date of review
without Kim’s signature or comment. Such a document was referred
to as a handwritten document. By merely dating the document, the
Leader signified that he agreed with the contents of the report but
would not be responsible for the results. However, like a handwritten
instruction, it was considered sanctioned policy and must be implemented
to the letter. 379
• Documents returned unsigned or dated signified that the Leader
either did not agree with or did not understand the document report.
It also probably meant that the counselor and his chain of command
did not accurately judge the Leader’s intentions, something that likely
resulted in criticism and punishment. 380
Once a document was ratified by Kim it became policy. Upon receipt of the
policy guidance from Kim’s Personal Secretariat, the originating institution of the
document report was responsible for its implementation. The person charged with
377 Hyon Song-il, North Korea’s National Strategy and Power Elite, op. cit. These reports are
registered at the KWP’s Confidential Documents Bureau after the final approval of the department or
ministry’s leadership is received. They were then sent to Kim Jong-il’s Personal Secretariat, where they
were prepared for his approval.
378 Ibid. Kim Jong-il’s Personal Secretariat was not authorized to reject any document without
first receiving his approval.
379 Ibid. A distinction was made between a handwritten instruction and a handwritten document
in the early 1990s as the volume of guidance from Kim Jong-il’s office increased dramatically, leading to
careless interpretation during the implementation process.
380 Ibid.
Ken E. Gause
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