State Security Department

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 is an autonomous agency of the North Korean government reporting directly to Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il.^[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.

Notes

1. ^ Library of Congress Country Studies
2. ^ Bermudez (2001), pg 198–203.

References

• Bermudez, Joseph S. (2001). Shield of the Great Leader. The Armed Forces of North Korea. The Armed Forces of Asia. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1864485825. 

See also

• Law enforcement in North Korea