SEOUL, Nov. 19 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un praised his state security forces for defending his regime, state media reported Wednesday, crediting the agency with enabling the ruling party’s survival against what he described as hostile forces.
Kim hailed the security organ as a “reliable companion and trustworthy assistant” that has protected the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea throughout its history, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
The North Korean leader visited the Ministry of State Security on the occasion of its 80th anniversary Monday, KCNA reported, accompanied by senior party officials including Workers’ Party Central Committee secretary Jo Yong Won.
“It is unthinkable apart from the feats and brilliant merits of the security officers who have steadfastly followed the road of defending the revolution,” Kim said in a congratulatory address, crediting the agency with enabling the party’s victories despite “hard fights against hostile forces.”
Kim expressed “belief that all the officers and servicepersons of the Ministry of State Security would fulfill their sacred and honorable responsibility and duty bestowed by the Party, state and people in future,” KCNA reported.
The Ministry of State Security functions as North Korea’s primary intelligence and secret police agency, tasked with monitoring both external threats and internal dissent. It has long been central to maintaining the Kim family’s grip on power through surveillance and suppression of opposition.
According to the U.S. State Department’s 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the agency routinely employs torture during interrogations, with victims reporting severe beatings used to extract confessions.
The report documented systematic abuses against detainees including “sexual violence, forced abortion, stress positions, inadequate food, and confinement in insect-infested facilities with inadequate heating and lack of access to medical care and bathroom facilities.” The agency administers North Korea’s network of political prison camps holding an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 prisoners.
Kim’s visit to the ministry comes as he continues to strengthen internal security mechanisms while navigating international tensions over his nuclear weapons program and deepening ties with Russia amid its war in Ukraine.
Last week, South Korea announced it would co-sponsor an annual United Nations resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights violations, maintaining its support under the administration of President Lee Jae Myung, who has pledged to improve relations with Pyongyang.
