North Korean House of Cards

chain of command and is responsible for various Party-related functions. It reports
directly to the Minister, as does the MPS Security Department.
• Chief of Staff Apparatus. The position of the chief of staff, which is
subordinate to the first vice minister, was created in 1994, following an
order from Kim Jong-il to place the Ministry on a wartime footing. 617
The chief of staff is the minister’s senior aide and primary conduit to the
headquarters apparatus.
The apparatus contains approximately forty bureaus and offices. Some of
the more important include: Inspection Bureau; Investigation Bureau;
Resident Registration Bureau; and Preliminary Examination Bureau.
ˏˏThe Inspection Bureau supervises the circulation of proclamations
and directives and ensures that they are implemented. It
also conducts routine inspections of provincial and local public
security bureaus.
ˏˏThe Investigation Bureau’s duties include criminal (general and
economic) investigations and arrests, forensic analysis, and guidance
and supervision of scientific investigation activities of provincial
and local public security bureaus.
ˏˏThe Resident Registration Bureau guides and supervises the
tracking of North Korean citizens throughout the country. It
keeps track of citizens’ resident classification and movement
documents using the so-called “Resident Registration Dossier.”
It also oversees the census.
ˏˏThe Preliminary Examination Bureau oversees the initial investigation
of criminal cases and determines how to handle them under
what jurisdiction. If cases are determined to be political in nature,
they are transferred to the SSD.
pom, Han Nam-chol, Ho Yong-ho, Pak Chung-gun, Paek Pong-man, Ri Yong-il, Choe Jung-hwa, Kang
Yong-ho, Won Hwa-sop, Kim Chang-byok, Kim Po-kyong, Han Chon-ho, Kim Chol-ung, So Chunbong,
Sin Il-nam, Paek Yong-chol, and Yu Yong-chol. Over the years, the number of vice ministers has
varied between three and ten. Pak Chung-gun, who, as of 2004, was described as the First Vice Minister,
allegedly handles the administrative departments within the Ministry, as well as the Foreign Trade Bureau.
The other vice ministers oversee other critical bureaus within the Ministry. During Chu Sang-song’s 2009
trip to China, North Korean media identified Kim Po-kyong as a vice minister and Ri Pyong-sam as the
Director of the Ministry’s Political Bureau.
617 DPRK National Defense Commission Order No. 7 (1994).
Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
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