North Korean House of Cards

D. CHAPTER SEVEN: THE INTERNAL
SECURITY APPARATUS— PROTECTING THE
SUPREME LEADER
In 2012, HRNK published a book by this author entitled Coercion, Control,
Surveillance, and Punishment: An Examination of the North Korean Police State, which
examines the institutions and processes surrounding how the regime deals with
crime and punishment. This chapter will not only update this work, but will also
expand the analysis to include other relevant bodies, such as the KWP OGD and
the GC, two bodies dedicated to the protection of the Supreme Leader and the
implementation of his orders.
Any study of the Supreme Leader’s apparatus of power is incomplete without
an examination of the Praetorian Guard. This is the part of the leadership that
keeps eyes and ears on the regime, and provides the physical protection that prevents
any individual or faction from wresting power from the center. It conducts night
raids of people’s houses to look for illicit videos and contraband. Members of the
Guard undergo arduous training to ensure that they can protect the Supreme Leader.
According to some defector sources, they are the real power behind the regime.
As suggested in previous chapters, the internal security apparatus is closely
tied to Kim Jong-un’s personal apparatus. These are the institutions and individuals
that Kim and his retinue deal with on a daily basis. They are the foundation of the
regime. If they were to weaken or become corrupt, the Kim family regime would
face peril, crumble, and possibly collapse. Ironically, it is also the one part of the
regime that the Supreme Leader must be wary of the most.
1. Evolution of the Praetorian Guard under
Kim Jong-un
It is often assumed that in authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, the
Praetorian Guard is part of the inner sanctum. By virtue of its trusted status, it
is also assumed that turnover and evolution among these institutions is rare or
impossible. History shows that this is not the case. The death of Caligula clearly
demonstrates what can happen when a leader places too much trust in or turns
a blind eye to the Praetorian Guard. Stalin frequently purged those closest to
him, but in the end, his Chief of Police, Laverenti Beria, may have been plotting
Stalin’s downfall when he died. Hitler moved quickly to destroy one part of his
guard in order to consolidate his power when he went after Ernst Röhm in the
Ken E. Gause
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