Organization and Guidance Department
KIS Birthday (A lot of water under the bridge)
The country held a relatively subdued celebration on Thursday (15 April) for the 98th birthday of the late DPRK President, Kim Il Sung. Unlike the dual debauchery of the February celebrations for the Lunar New […]
State Security Chief U Tong Chuk Promoted
National Defense Commission Member and Senior Deputy Director of the State Security Department, U Tong Chuk, was promoted to KPA General in this year’s military promotions list in honor of Kim Il Sung’s Birthday (15 […]
New Study on Office #39
The US Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute’s Letort Papers series (SSI and the Letort series produce fascinating and excellent scholarship) has published a comprehensive study on the activities of Office #39. In Criminal Sovereignty: […]
Ri Chol to Leave as UN & CH Diplorep
Yonhap, citing a source in Berne and general diplo gossip, reports that Ri Chol is leaving his posts. He is concurrently the DPRK’s Ambassador to Switzerland and to the UN Mission in Geneva. While Ambassador […]
New Kangwon Provincial KWP Chief Secretary
Paek Kye-ryong is the new Chief Secretary of the Kangwon KWP Provincial Committee. His appointment was found in several North Korean media reports this month which referred to him as “chief secretary of the Kangwon […]
The Ghost of the Morningstar General Haunts the New Year
Daily NK put 2009 to bed with a report on a new paper by the venerable Jeong Sung-jang. Jeong Sung-jang predicts that 2010 will see an official announcement of Kim Jong-un’s succession after a meeting […]
Morningstar Rumors
Chosun Ilbo adds another story to the “Is he or isn’t he?” scuttlebutt machine around the possible hereditary succession of Kim Jong-un. This story contradicts a report from JoongAng Daily that stated the mysterious Kim […]
