North Korean House of Cards

chain of command. Since the death of Jang Song-taek and the elimination of the
KWP Administrative Department, the SSD now directly reports to Kim Jong-un
in his capacity as the First Chairman of the NDC. Kim Won-hong’s elevation to
membership in the NDC has solidified this channel of communication.
Below Kim Won-hong are six vice directors for organization, propaganda,
personnel, 596 inspection, rear logistics services, and security. 597 They oversee more
than twenty bureaus, which in turn operate local SSD offices in each province
(do), city (si), county (gun), and village (ri), as well as organizations and enterprises.
Of these bureaus, the First (General Guidance), Second (Counterespionage),
Fourth (Counterintelligence), Seventh (Prisons), Eighth (Border Security), Tenth
(Investigation), and Eleventh (Prosecution) are the most involved in ensuring the
internal security of the regime. 598 Kim Chang-sop, who was elevated to alternate
member status in the KWP Politburo at the Third Party Conference, is the
Director of the Political Bureau.
• The First Bureau (General Guidance Bureau) is responsible for the
dissemination of Kim Jong-un’s guidance and instructions. It also
serves a number of housekeeping functions, including gathering and
analyzing domestic intelligence from all SSD bureaus and preparing
comprehensive, overarching SSD reports for Kim Jong-un.
• The Second Bureau (Counterespionage Bureau) monitors, investigates,
and arrests those involved in spying for foreign countries. It also
monitors foreign activity within North Korea’s borders and conducts
immigration functions, such as issuing passports and visas.
• The Fourth Bureau (Counterintelligence Bureau) is responsible for
rooting out anti-regime and anti-Kim elements within the North Korean
government. It deploys its personnel within the party, government, and
military, as well as at universities, enterprises, and factories.
• The Seventh Bureau (Prisons Bureau), also known as the Farm Bureau,
is responsible for the management and control of political prisoners and
political prisoner confinement facilities throughout the country.
596 To work for the SSD, background checks include investigation out to an applicant’s third
cousins, because workers at this agency handle many classified materials.
597 Seo Jae-Jin and Kim Kap-Sik. A Study of the North Korean Ministry of People’s Security (Seoul:
Korea Institute for National Unification, 2008). According to this source, Kim Sang-kwon, Yun To-sun,
and Hong Pong-sik are vice directors in the SSD.
598 According to some defectors, the SSD’s Eleventh Bureau is responsible for surveillance, while
the Thirteenth Bureau is dedicated to prosecutorial affairs.
Ken E. Gause
261