North Korean House of Cards

may occasionally be able to reach out to him directly bypassing his gatekeepers. 677 As
Kim Jong-un consolidates his power, many of these leaders will likely disappear
from the leadership. 678 As of now, this echelon of the senior leadership includes the
following individuals:
1. Party
• Kim Ki-nam (86) is the KWP Secretary for Propaganda (since the
1990s). 679 He has also been a full member of the Politburo since 2010
and is Director of the PAD. A close associate of the Kim family, Kim
Ki-nam is credited for creating the cult of personality around Kim
Jong-il and praising Kim Il-sung’s historic role as the founder of the
regime. His ties to the Kim family date back to the 1930s, when his
father was a member of Kim Il-sung’s partisan movement. 680 Kim later
attended Mangyongdae Revolutionary Academy, where he met Kim
Jong-il. Early in his career, Kim Ki-nam served as a Russian translator
for Kim Il-sung. He later cultivated a close relationship with Kim
Jong-il and was a frequent member of Kim’s late night parties where
major policy decisions were made. 681 He has had a leading role in the
677 This ability to bypass the gatekeepers is likely tied to a person’s relationship with Kim Jong-un.
Blood relatives of the Kim family and close associates of Kim Jong-il may have a certain amount of access
that is denied to others.
678 Nicolas Levi, “Analysis: Old Generation of North Korean Elite Remain Active,” New Focus
International, July 31, 2013. Some Pyongyang-watchers, such as Levi, caution against the belief that the
old guard is being forced out. Many still continue to play important roles within the regime despite their
age and health.
679 “Ancient N. Korean Propaganda Chief Bows Out,” The Chosun Ilbo, April 17, 2015. In early
2015, some Pyongyang-watchers began to question whether Kim Ki-nam still holds this post. On April
9, 2015, Kim was sitting in the third pew alongside vice-ministerial officials rather than on the leadership
rostrum during the 3rd Session of the 13th Supreme People’s Assembly. A few days earlier at the rally
marking the 103rd birthday of regime founder Kim Il-sung, he was not sitting with the senior leadership.
This raised questions about whether Kim Ki-nam had retired and assumed an honorary post. Some
speculated that he may have been replaced by Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un’s younger sister. In July 2015,
however, Kim Ki-nam’s profile began to rise, and by October he had begun to be a regular presence at
Supreme Leader guidance inspections, as well as making high profile speeches. According to one defector
source, this was due to a series of blunders made by Kim Yo-jong involving the security of her brother in
May 2015. Kim Ki-nam returned to the center to reassert stability around the young leader. See “Kim
Jong Un’s Sister ‘Loses Security Job’ After Blunders,” The Chosun Ilbo, October 8, 2015.
680 Author’s discussion with Pyongyang-watchers in Seoul, 2013.
681 Kim Jong-il and Kim Ki-nam’s relationship dates back to the 1960s when the two allegedly
conspired to weaken the Kim Sung-ae faction within the Kim family and position Kim Jong-il to become
heir apparent, which he achieved in 1974. Kim Ki-nam was rumored to be one of the authors of the
strategy to “cut the side branches,” a phrase linked to the purge within the Kim family that took place in
the 1970s and 1980s.
Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
298