State Security Department of North Korea

The State Security Department of North Korea is an autonomous agency of the North Korean government reporting directly to the North Korean leader. [Library of Congress Country Studies] 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. [Bermudez (2001), pg 198–203.]

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" refer to the organisation as the State Security Department, say it is not part of the NK armed forces, and says it reports directly to the North Korean head of government.

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