North Korean House of Cards

• The Eighth Bureau (Border Security Bureau) monitors foreign
activity on the border, such as foreign nationals who might try to enter
North Korea, and locates and captures North Korean escapees close to
the border. It works closely with the MPAF Border Guard Command
and also operates in China, where it checks the identification of
North Korean citizens to determine whether they are escapees. It has
arrest authority for high-profile defectors, but only identifies ordinary
escapees for arrest by other sections of the SSD. 599
• The Tenth Bureau (Investigation Bureau), also known as the
Preliminary Investigation Bureau, investigates and arrests those
suspected of anti-regime activities. This Bureau is particularly
feared by the public for the arbitrary manner in which it carries out
executions. Bureau personnel have reportedly assassinated political
prisoners for their own personal or career advancement. In recent
years, this Bureau has devoted much of its time to investigating
incidents involving graffiti and leaflets opposing Kim Il-sung and
Kim Jong-il, and the destruction and damage of their portraits. The
Investigation Bureau allegedly keeps files on the handwriting of every
North Korean resident over the age of 17 in order to help it identify
disobedient individuals.
• The Eleventh Bureau (Prosecution Bureau) is the primary point
of contact with the Procurator General and the court system. This
Bureau oversees cases and determines how to proceed with adjudication.
Presumably, it is also involved in SSD decisions on whether an individual
should be handled as a political criminal or transferred to the MPS.
• The Central 109 Combined Inspection Command was identified by
defector sources in 2014 as a result of an emergency meeting of senior
functionaries of the agencies responsible for internal security. At this
meeting in June 2014, Kim Jong-un discussed how this agency is
leading the crackdown on the leakage of state secrets and the spread of
foreign trends inside the regime. Headed directly by Kim Won-hong,
the Command is in charge of the “109 Combined Inspection Groups”
across the country, which are responsible for inspecting and confiscating
599 Kim Kwang-Jin and Choi Song-Min, “Border Security Goes Back to NSA,” Daily NK, April
22, 2012. According to some sources, in April 2012, Kim Jong-un gave the SSD sole authority over border
security. Before this move, the SSD and MPAF had shared responsibility—the MPAF had the mission
of protecting the border and preventing defections, while the SSD carried out arrests and repatriations.
Now, the SSD allegedly is responsible for both roles.
Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
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