North Korean House of Cards

assume the role of political officers and ordinary soldiers, focusing their monitoring
on company-grade officers. They also indirectly supervise the work of the Security
Guidance Bureau (SGB), which also runs a covert monitoring network within the
armed forces. Like the SSD, the SGB reports directly to the NDC. 591 In effect,
internal spies monitor other internal spies.
i. Structure
The SSD’s chain of command is composed of one director, one first deputy
director, and several deputy directors. 592 Since Ri Chin-su’s death in the late 1980s,
the position of director had been officially unoccupied. For years, the duties of this
position were presumed to belong to Kim Jong-il. Following the Fourth Party
Conference in 2012, 593 KCNA announced that General Kim Won-hong had assumed
the position. 594 The importance of the SSD under Kim Jong-un was revealed when
he accompanied his father on visits to SSD facilities throughout 2009 and 2010,
including one to the SSD headquarters in October 2010. 595
Until Jang Song-taek’s purge, the KWP Administrative Department was
responsible for Party oversight of the SSD. According to several sources, one of
Jang’s deputies was responsible for monitoring SSD activities. In early 2012, this
oversight was reportedly strengthened with the removal of U Tong-chuk, the SSD
First Vice Director. Over the next year, Kim Won-hong expanded his control and
reportedly began to communicate directly with Kim Jong-un, circumventing the
591 Seiichi Ino, Kim Jong-Il’s Will (Tokyo: Asahi Shimbun Publications, Inc., 2009).
592 “N. Korea Purges Deputy Spy Chief,” The Chosun Ilbo, May 20, 2011. See also “Ryu Kyong
Had Actual Grip on North Korean Intelligence and Armed Forces,” NKChosun.com, May 20, 2011.
Some sources identify Ryu Kyong as a powerful Deputy Director, who “has received numerous medals
for uncovering alleged U.S. and Japanese spy rings within North Korea.” However, South Korean sources
contend that Ryu was removed as part of a purge in May 2011 to lay the foundation for Kim Jong-un’s
succession. According to reports, Ryu was arrested by the GC, interrogated, and executed. Speculation
was that he was becoming too powerful, even eclipsing U Tong-chuk within the SSD. This purge is
similar to the one in the early 1980s, when Kim Pyong-ha was removed as head of the SSD and forced to
commit suicide.
593 At the Fourth Party Conference in April 2012, Kim Won-hong was made a full member of the
Politburo and a member of the CMC. At the Fifth Session of the 12th SPA, he was appointed to the NDC.
594 “Brief History of Member of Presidium, Members and Alternate Members of the Political
Bureau of C.C., WPK Elected to Fill Vacancies,” KCNA, April 11, 2012.
595 Christine Kim and Lee Young-jong, “Kim Jong-un in charge of intelligence: Source,” Korea
JoongAng Daily, April 21, 2011. In April 2011, the NIS allegedly informed the South Korean National
Assembly’s Intelligence Committee that Kim Jong-un had assumed the post as Director of the SSD. NIS
sources contend that Kim’s association with the SSD dates back to April 2009, when he ordered a sting
on the vacation home frequented by his older brother, Kim Jong-nam. Several of Jong-nam’s associates were
arrested by the SSD in an apparent purge of “side branches” within the Kim family.
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