North Korean House of Cards

iii. Role in the Regime
It is assumed by most Pyongyang-watchers that the Guard Command
continues to occupy a central role in the regime of Kim Jong-un. It is vested with
the protection of the Supreme Leader and members of the senior leadership, after
all. However, in 2014 and 2015, subtle indications in the North Korean media
suggest that the Guard Command may have lost some influence in the politics around
the senior leader to other security agencies, namely the MSC. Stories appeared
in the South Korean media, reportedly based on North Korean sources, that the
GC had been placed under Jang Song-taek. This was followed by stories of the
MSC’s meteoric rise and photographs of its commander with a side arm in close
proximity to Kim Jong-un. Finally, Yun Jong-rin disappeared from public view
for several months in 2014 and 2015. Taken separately, none of these pieces of
evidence proves anything. But taken together, they suggest a possible diminution
of power and influence of the GC.
c. State Security Department
The SSD (Guk-ga An-jeon Bo-wi-bu) is one of the most obscure institutions
in the North Korean regime. Although its existence was known for years, it was
not until 1987, at the time of SSD Director Ri Chin-su’s funeral, that North Korean
media officially acknowledged the SSD’s existence. 584 The SSD is often referred to
by foreign media as the Ministry of State Security or the State Political Security
Department. 585 Its military cover designation is allegedly KPA Unit 10215. 586
The SSD’s personnel numbers approximately 50,000. 587 Its headquarters is
in Pyongyang, 588 but it also has offices at the provincial, city, and local levels. The
584 In September 2007, the central media unveiled this opaque institution in a television broadcast
devoted to a SSD news conference warning the public against the smuggling and use of contraband media
and communication devices. The following year, in December 2008, the central media again mentioned the
SSD in a story that accused South Korea of plotting to assassinate Kim Jong-il.
585 Also called the “State Security Agency” in the White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea
(Seoul: Korean Institute for National Unification, 2007, 2008, and 2009) and “National Security Agency”
in David Hawk, The Hidden Gulag, 2nd ed. (Washington, D.C.: Committee for Human Rights in
North Korea, 2012).
586 Kim Jong-un’s second public on-site inspection after becoming heir apparent in September
2010 was at KPA Unit 10215.
587 “Real Power of the State Security Department,” Economisuto, October 1, 2008. According to
this Japanese source, the SSD has approximately 70,000 personnel.
588 Choe Seon-Yeong and Jang Yong-Hun, “Competition Between North’s Power Organs To
Show Loyalty to Kim Jong-un Intensifies,” Yonhap News Agency, May 31, 2009. This article identifies
Amisan, Daesong District, Pyongyang as the location of the SSD headquarters.
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