North Korea has officially announced its intention to establish a police system, marking a significant move towards legalizing its overall security framework. While some interpret this as an effort to align with a normal state model, analysts suggest that the true direction of change will hinge on future legislation and implementation.
In a recently published report titled, A Brief on the Establishment of North Korea’s Police System, Jeong Ryeong-hyun, a visiting professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies, asserts that this change is not merely an organizational restructuring. Instead, it’s part of a broader effort to refine the legal framework of state operations.
During his speech at the Supreme People’s Assembly in March, Kim Jong Un, the General Secretary of the Workers’ Party, mentioned establishing a police system suitable for North Korean governance. He indicated plans to clarify the legal basis for security organizations and restructure the police force of the Social Safety Forces. The report interprets this as an intention to codify existing security functions into legal language.
The direction of institutional change is becoming clearer. The Social Safety Forces will transfer from direct oversight by the State Affairs Commission to the Cabinet, marking a departure from the militarized system maintained for about 16 years. Additionally, the Ministry of State Security will be restructured into the National Intelligence Service. The report views these moves as an effort to reposition security organizations from military governance structures to regular administrative bodies.
China serves as a comparative example in the report. It highlights how China legally distinguishes between general police and armed security forces through the People’s Police Law and the People’s Armed Police Law, while still maintaining Party leadership. This suggests that North Korea is likely to codify its security functions into law, thereby refining the external appearance of its state operations.
However, Professor Jeong cautions against assuming these changes will immediately lead to institutional normalization.
He points out that specific legal proposals, the structure of police authority, the relationship with intelligence agencies, and the legal nature of police forces have not yet been disclosed. Even if state operations become law-based, this doesn’t automatically reflect the separation of powers or political neutrality associated with liberal democracy.
The report recommends monitoring three key aspects moving forward. First, it’s crucial to observe what names and content North Korea presents in its police-related legislation. The significance of this reform may vary depending on whether the laws merely establish organizational guidelines or encompass comprehensive regulations covering police duties, authority, command structure, and oversight principles.
Second, it will be important to see how roles are delineated between the Social Safety Forces and the National Intelligence Service. If the boundaries between general security and intelligence/counterintelligence functions become clearer, the differentiation of state organizations may advance. Conversely, if authority overlaps persist, substantial change is likely to remain limited.
Third, the extent to which the restructuring of the Social Safety Forces’ police force is institutionalized will be critical. Whether this organization remains a mere auxiliary security force or develops into a separate paramilitary system akin to China’s armed police will be a determining factor for the nature of North Korea’s police system.
Ultimately, while this change can be viewed as North Korea’s attempt to adopt a more internationally recognized framework for state operations, it’s challenging to interpret it as a relaxation of the regime or a depoliticization of power institutions.
Even if legal codification occurs, it will likely be a process of refining the roles and forms of security organizations under Party rule. Therefore, the true implications of the announcement regarding the establishment of a police system will only become clear through the content of future legislation and actual operational practices.