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North Korean State Security Minister Kim Won-hong

Kim Won-hong, head of the Ministry of State Security, a key part of the North Korean government, was recently dismissed, the South Korean government confirmed.

“Following an investigation by the Organisation and Guidance Department of the Korean Workers’ Party, State Security Minister Kim Won-hong was demoted from general of the army to major general and then sacked in mid-January. Since the Organisation and Guidance Department is carrying out an aggressive investigation of Kim Won-hong and the Ministry of State Security, it’s possible that there will be harsher punishments of more people in the future,” said South Korean Unification Ministry spokesperson Jeong Joon-hee during the regular press briefing on Feb. 3.

“Friction with the Organisation and Guidance Department and conflict over [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un – these are among several possible conjectures,” added Jeong when asked why Kim was sacked. This suggests that Kim’s dismissal resulted from secret divisions within the North Korean regime.

“It was determined that multiple senior officials, including a vice minister in the Ministry of State Security, were executed in the course of the investigation,” a South Korean government official said. “Kim Won-hong was one of Kim Jong-un’s key aides and a major player in his reign of terror, but Kim Jong-un appears to have thrown Kim Won-hong under the bus when popular opinion started to turn against him in order to cultivate the image of a loving leader and to appease the people by shifting the blame to Kim Won-hong and the Ministry of State Security,” the official also said.

While Kim Won-hong’s demotion should not necessarily be read as his purge or ouster, the fact that his aides were executed means that, depending on how the situation plays out, this could lead to his permanent disgrace, rather than his reinstatement after a certain period of good behavior.

Kim Won-hong’s dismissal is suggestive since Kim was the final person in the five major military posts (Director of the General Political Bureau in the North Korean Army, Chief of the General Staff, Minister of the People's Armed Forces, Minister of State Security and Minister of People’s Security) who had not been replaced. While the South Korean government regards the dismissal as indicating “growing instability in the regime” (in the words of the Unification Ministry spokesperson), it could also be seen as the final step in establishing Kim Jong-un’s autocratic rule over North Korea.

By Lee Je-hun, staff reporter

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