| State Security Department | |
|---|---|
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 국가안전보위부 |
| Hancha | 國家安全保衛部 |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kukka anjŏn powibu |
| Revised Romanization | Gukga anjeon bowibu |
The State Security Department of North Korea or the Ministry of State Security is an autonomous agency of the North Korean government reporting directly to Supreme Leader.[1] It is the secret police of North Korea. It is involved in the operation of North Korea's concentration camps and various other hidden activities.[2] By nearly all accounts, it is one of the most brutal secret police forces in the world, and has been involved in numerous human rights abuses.
Various U.S. expert authorities on the North Korean government appear to disagree on the name and place of the force within the North Korean government. The CIA World Factbook refers to the organisation as the civil security forces, and says it is part of the North Korean armed forces. However, this may be a misreading of the Factbook, as it does not appear to refer to a specific force, merely the numerous civilian security bodies.
The Library of Congress Country Studies, the Federation of American Scientists, Globalsecurity.org, and Joseph Bermudez, in his book The Armed Forces of North Korea all refer to the organisation as the State Security Department. They further say that it is not part of the Korean People's Army (the North Korean armed forces), and instead reports directly to Kim.
The post of Security Department head was left vacant after Minister Ri Chun-su's death in 1987, although it was de facto if not de jure controlled by Kim Jong-il and the WPK Organisation and Guidance Department he headed[3]. In 1998 the SSD migrated under the National Defence Commission, also chaired by Kim Jong-il[3]. Finally in 2007 it was transferred under the WPK Administration Department, whose first vice director became responsible of the SSD daily work, but it continued to have obligations towards the Organisation Department[3].
In November 2011, it was reported that General U Tong-chuk had been appointed permanent minister of State Security[4], the first of this kind since 1987, filling a post left unoccupied for 24 years. This was almost concurrent with General Ri Myong-su's appointment as minister of People's Security. Other sources also claimed that Kim Jong-un worked at the State Security Department before and/or after his anointment as heir apparent in September 2010[5].