North Korean House of Cards

According to a former diplomat who defected from North Korea in
the 1990s, the privileged classes in North Korea number in the tens
of thousands, including: the leaders from the Central Committee
of the KWP and above, cabinet vice ministers and above, and KPA
regimental commanders and above. From time to time, Kim Jong-il
would bestow these people with foreign goods or imported foodstuffs
to “buy their hearts and minds.”
“For example, deluxe condominiums have been constructed among
the trees here and there along Munsu Street in Pyongyang, where a
number of establishments for entertaining (guest houses) are lined
up. These are five-story buildings, with each floor having an area of
100 square meters. High-ranking officials from the Foreign Ministry,
the Party, and the military are given one floor each. Refrigerated
trucks make the rounds, distributing fresh foodstuffs. Wives are given
$2,000 a month in spending money.”
–Former North Korean Diplomat
According to South Korean reports in the early 2000s, Kim Jong-il delivered
gifts to some 20,000 individuals who formed the core leadership of the regime. 401
This included leading members of the Party, military, and state apparatuses, as well
as specially chosen individuals who had made contributions to the regime. Of this
number, approximately 6,000 individuals received gifts in the name of Kim Jong-il
on all major holidays, including New Year’s Day and the birthdays of Kim Il-sung
(April 15) and Kim Jong-il (February 16). The value of these gifts to the core
leadership averaged $20,000 per person. 402
401 Lee Gyo-Gwan, “20,000 Receive Gifts from Kim Jong-il Every Year,” NKChosun.com,
January 12, 2002.
402 Ibid. Included in this number were 1,000 leading Party officials, including secretaries, department
heads, deputy department heads, and section chiefs; nearly 1,000 members of the high command,
including regimental commanders and above; cabinet members, including the premier, vice premiers,
ministers, and vice ministers; and more than 300 retired veterans, anti-Japanese partisans, or bereaved
families of “revolutionary combatants.” Vice Directors of the KWP OGD, Commander of the GC, Vice
Directors of the SSD, and Minister and Vice Ministers of the People’s Armed Forces received gifts on par
with Party secretaries and the premier.
Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
186