The General Political Bureau (GPB) is the internal

politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contracti ...

of the

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the '' Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General S ...

(KPA), used by the leadership of the

North Korean government In the North Korean government, the Cabinet is the administrative and executive body. The North Korean government consists of three branches: administrative, legislative, and judicial. However, they are not independent of each other, but al ...

to exert political control over the military. The GPB is subordinate to the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

and operates under the direction of the

Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea The Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea ( ko, 조선로동당 중앙위원회) is the highest party body between national meetings of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea. According to WPK rules, th ...

. The GPB controls units of the KPA on all levels down to company level. It primarily exerts control through propaganda, education, and cultural activities. Under directions of the

State Affairs Commission of North Korea The State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (SAC) is defined by the 2016 constitution as "the supreme policy-oriented leadership body of State power." The current president of the SAC, which is defined by the same ...

, it also controls troop movements. During

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Ki ...

's ''

Songun ''Songun'' is the " military-first" policy of North Korea, prioritizing the Korean People's Army in the affairs of state and allocation of resources. "Military-first" as a principle guides political and economic life in North Korea, with "mili ...

'' (military first) era in particular, the GPB remained relatively independent and unchanged for decades. However, after the 2016

7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea The 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea, was held on 6–9 May 2016. Background The 7th Congress was the first Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea held since the 6th Congress in 1980. In ...

under

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

, the party had regained enough power to exert influence over the GPB. Consequentially, in 2017 the party

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the ...

was ordered to carry out an inspection of the GPB, the first of its kind in 20 years. The inspection was carried out by

Choe Ryong-hae Choe Ryong-hae (born 15 January 1950) is a North Korean politician and military officer who currently serves as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and First Vice President of the State Affairs Commission, holdin ...

. , the Director of the General Political Bureau is

Kwon Yong-jin Kwon Yong-jin ( ko, 권영진/權英進) is a North Korean politician and military officer who currently serves as the director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army since January 2021. Biography Kwon Yong-jin is the d ...

In popular culture

*The General Political Bureau (GPB) is featured in the

South Korean drama Korean dramas (; RR: ''Han-guk deurama''), more popularly known as K-dramas, are television series in the Korean language, made in South Korea. They are popular worldwide, especially in Asia, partially due to the spread of Korean popular cultu ...

Crash Landing on You ''Crash Landing on You'' () is a 2019–2020 South Korean television series written by Park Ji-eun, directed by Lee Jeong-hyo and starring Hyun Bin, Son Ye-jin, Seo Ji-hye, and Kim Jung-hyun. It is about a successful South Korean businesswom ...

'', where the main character Ri Jeong-hyeok has power and authority in

due to his father being the Director of the GPB.

References

Works cited

* {{North Korean armed forces Military of North Korea Politics of North Korea Government of North Korea

In popular culture

See also

References

Works cited