North Korea’s primary internal security and counterintelligence agency, known domestically as the bowibu. Established in its current form in 1973, the agency reports directly to the Supreme Leader and operates outside the normal judicial system. It is responsible for political surveillance, suppression of dissent, management of political prison camps, monitoring of foreign media consumption, counter-defection operations, and investigation of economic crimes. In early 2026, the agency was renamed the State Information Bureau, reportedly to project a more institutionalized image while expanding its intelligence mandate.
Tag: ministry of state security
N. Korea orders probe into its own harsh punishments
North Korea has issued a special order to launch full-scale reinvestigations of unfair and cruel punishments from the Unified Command on Non-Socialist and Anti-Socialist...
N. Korea arrests woman for leaking information to South
A woman in her 30s in Hyesan, Ryanggang province, was arrested by provincial state security officers on charges of leaking domestic information abroad.
According to...
(Interview) Lee Jae-myung’s election raises hope for inter-Korean military agreement
A liberal president’s election in South Korea appears to have kindled a conciliatory mood among North Korean officials, as well as hope for improved...
N. Korea uses Moscow security meeting to advance intelligence cooperation with...
North Korea used the recent 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues in Moscow as a strategic opportunity to advance working-level intelligence...
Four N. Koreans sentenced to political prison camps after failed sea...
Four North Koreans who tried unsuccessfully to defect by sea in late April have been sentenced to political prison camps.
"Four people who got caught...
North Korea’s security agency suspected of spreading weapons trade rumors
Rumors that North Korea will "soon become an economic powerhouse by selling weapons" are spreading rapidly, with some suspecting the country's Ministry of State...
N. Korea reassigns security officer following bribery reports
A North Korean security agent whose bribery was exposed through a Daily NK report in January last year has been recalled to Pyongyang after...
N. Korea’s car rental experiment creates new dating culture in Pyongyang
A car rental service that North Korea is testing in Pyongyang's Hwasong district has been well-received by both business owners and young people. Young...
Remittances or ruin: N. Korean authorities target defectors’ families for remittance...
State security officers in Hoeryong have intensified pressure on defectors' families, forcing them to confess to receiving illegal remittances. Under relentless intimidation, many families...
Four North Koreans intercepted during maritime defection attempt
Four North Koreans were handed over to state security after being intercepted by a maritime patrol vessel while attempting to defect in a small...
