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63-603: The Ministry of State Security of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ( Korean : 조선민주주의인민공화국 국가보위성) is the secret police agency of North Korea . It is an autonomous agency of the North Korean government reporting directly to the Supreme Leader . In addition to its internal security duties, it is involved in the operation of North Korea's concentration camps , prisons and various other hidden activities. The agency

126-475: A spoken language . Since the turn of the 21st century, aspects of Korean culture have spread to other countries through globalization and cultural exports . As such, interest in Korean language acquisition (as a foreign language ) is also generated by longstanding alliances, military involvement, and diplomacy, such as between South Korea–United States and China–North Korea since the end of World War II and

189-484: A Korean influence on Khitan. The hypothesis that Korean could be related to Japanese has had some supporters due to some overlap in vocabulary and similar grammatical features that have been elaborated upon by such researchers as Samuel E. Martin and Roy Andrew Miller . Sergei Starostin (1991) found about 25% of potential cognates in the Japanese–Korean 100-word Swadesh list . Some linguists concerned with

252-477: A core vowel. The IPA symbol ⟨ ◌͈ ⟩ ( U+0348 ◌͈ COMBINING DOUBLE VERTICAL LINE BELOW ) is used to denote the tensed consonants /p͈/, /t͈/, /k͈/, /t͡ɕ͈/, /s͈/ . Its official use in the extensions to the IPA is for "strong" articulation, but is used in the literature for faucalized voice . The Korean consonants also have elements of stiff voice , but it is not yet known how typical this

315-513: A possible relationship.) Hudson & Robbeets (2020) suggested that there are traces of a pre- Nivkh substratum in Korean. According to the hypothesis, ancestral varieties of Nivkh (also known as Amuric ) were once distributed on the Korean Peninsula before the arrival of Koreanic speakers. Korean syllable structure is (C)(G)V(C), consisting of an optional onset consonant, glide /j, w, ɰ/ and final coda /p, t, k, m, n, ŋ, l/ surrounding

378-656: Is an agglutinative language . The Korean language is traditionally considered to have nine parts of speech . Modifiers generally precede the modified words, and in the case of verb modifiers, can be serially appended. The sentence structure or basic form of a Korean sentence is subject–object–verb (SOV), but the verb is the only required and immovable element and word order is highly flexible, as in many other agglutinative languages. Question 가게에 gage-e store- LOC 가셨어요? ga-syeo-sseo-yo go- HON . PAST - CONJ - POL 가게에 가셨어요? gage-e ga-syeo-sseo-yo store-LOC go-HON.PAST-CONJ-POL 'Did [you] go to

441-511: Is closer to a near-open central vowel ( [ɐ] ), though ⟨a⟩ is still used for tradition. Grammatical morphemes may change shape depending on the preceding sounds. Examples include -eun/-neun ( -은/-는 ) and -i/-ga ( -이/-가 ). Sometimes sounds may be inserted instead. Examples include -eul/-reul ( -을/-를 ), -euro/-ro ( -으로/-로 ), -eseo/-seo ( -에서/-서 ), -ideunji/-deunji ( -이든지/-든지 ) and -iya/-ya ( -이야/-야 ). Some verbs may also change shape morphophonemically. Korean

504-483: Is formally implemented, and public announcements made. Decisions are released publicly in the form of "resolutions" or "decisions". The Central Committee was established at the 1st Congress when its 1st composition was elected. It was composed of 43-members and has since expanded at all congresses. From 1948 to 1961 an average of 2.4 meetings per year were held, about the same rate as the Central Committee of

567-402: Is known to link up with various government ministries and agencies to help them with their various missions. Korean language Korean ( South Korean : 한국어 , Hanguk-eo ; North Korean : 조선어 , Chosŏnŏ ) is the native language for about 81 million people, mostly of Korean descent. It is the national language of both North Korea and South Korea . Beyond Korea,

630-586: Is little evidence that this actually happens. Politburo members may serve concurrently on party or state commissions, the government or the Central Committee apparatus. Evidence suggests that the Politburo functions much like the CPSU Politburo under Stalin, with Politburo members acting as the party leader's personal staff rather than as policymakers. This was not always the case; before Kim Il Sung purged

693-399: Is mainly reserved for specific circumstances such as newspapers, scholarly papers and disambiguation. Today Hanja is largely unused in everyday life but is still important for historical and linguistic studies. The Korean names for the language are based on the names for Korea used in both South Korea and North Korea. The English word "Korean" is derived from Goryeo , which is thought to be

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756-529: Is not a permanent body and, according to the WPK Charter, shall convene at least once a year. The Politburo summons the Central Committee for plenary sessions. A plenary session shall consist of, according to the WPK Charter, discussing and deciding on "important issues of the party" and is empowered to elect the Politburo and its Presidium, Executive Policy Bureau, the Central Military Commission,

819-399: Is of faucalized consonants. They are produced with a partially constricted glottis and additional subglottal pressure in addition to tense vocal tract walls, laryngeal lowering, or other expansion of the larynx. /s/ is aspirated [sʰ] and becomes an alveolo-palatal [ɕʰ] before [j] or [i] for most speakers (but see North–South differences in the Korean language ). This occurs with

882-556: Is reputed to be one of the most brutal secret police forces in the world, and has been involved in numerous human rights abuses . It is one of two agencies which provides security or protection to North Korean officials and VIPs alongside the Supreme Guard Command . In 1945, the DPRK Security was established, being attached to the "Police Department". In 1948, it became Ministry of Internal Affairs ( Korean : 내무성 정치보위국 ) with

945-716: Is well attested in Western Old Japanese and Northern Ryukyuan languages , in Eastern Old Japanese it only occurs in compounds, and it is only present in three dialects of the Southern Ryukyuan language group . Also, the doublet wo meaning "hemp" is attested in Western Old Japanese and Southern Ryukyuan languages. It is thus plausible to assume a borrowed term. (See Classification of the Japonic languages or Comparison of Japanese and Korean for further details on

1008-556: Is written in the Korean script ( 한글 ; Hangeul in South Korea, 조선글 ; Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea), a system developed during the 15th century for that purpose, although it did not become the primary script until the 20th century. The script uses 24 basic letters ( jamo ) and 27 complex letters formed from the basic ones. When first recorded in historical texts, Korean was only

1071-620: The August Faction Incident it was a forum in which different factions competed. Since then, it has generally exercised power through formal procedures defined in the party rules. However, its actual ability to affect outcomes of national-level personnel decisions is non-existent, as that function has generally been, in practice, carried out by the Kim family and the Politburo . Nonetheless, Central Committee plenums function as venues whereby policy

1134-554: The Communist Party of the Soviet Union . Meetings held during this period frequently did not exceed one day. The Central Committee's power lay not in how often (or for how long) it met but in its apparatus. Controlled by the Politburo rather than the Central Committee, the apparatus was the nominal government of North Korea under Kim Il Sung. The Central Committee was not convened for a plenary session between 1993 and 2010. It

1197-675: The Korean War . Along with other languages such as Chinese and Arabic , Korean is ranked at the top difficulty level for English speakers by the United States Department of Defense . Modern Korean descends from Middle Korean , which in turn descends from Old Korean , which descends from the Proto-Koreanic language , which is generally suggested to have its linguistic homeland somewhere in Manchuria . Whitman (2012) suggests that

1260-524: The Korean dialects , which are still largely mutually intelligible . The Chinese language , written with Chinese characters and read with Sino-Xenic pronunciations , was first introduced to Korea in the 1st century BC, and remained the medium of formal writing and government until the late 19th century. Korean scholars adapted Chinese characters (known in Korean as Hanja ) to write their own language, creating scripts known as idu , hyangchal , gugyeol , and gakpil. These systems were cumbersome, due to

1323-670: The Ministry of Public Security . Some defectors and sources have suggested that unlike its Eastern Bloc counterparts, State Security functions are actually conducted by several larger and different security bodies that operate under the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) or the Korean People's Army (KPA, the North Korean armed forces), each with its own unique responsibilities and classified names that are referred to by code (e.g. Room 39 ), and that

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1386-603: The Reconnaissance General Bureau . In 2010, North Korea renamed the Munitions Industry Department to "Machine Building Industry Department" as part of efforts to evade sanctions targeting of its defense industry ; it reverted to its former name in 2017. By the 3rd Conference, it was known by foreign observers that certain department heads ( Chong Pyong-ho , Kim Kuk-tae and Ri Ha-il , for example) had retired. A new legal affairs department

1449-557: The Three Kingdoms of Korea (not the ancient confederacies in the southern Korean Peninsula), while " -eo " and " -mal " mean "language" and "speech", respectively. Korean is also simply referred to as guk-eo , literally "national language". This name is based on the same Han characters ( 國語 "nation" + "language") that are also used in Taiwan and Japan to refer to their respective national languages. In North Korea and China ,

1512-949: The 16th century for all Korean classes, including uneducated peasants and slaves. By the 17th century, the yangban had exchanged Hangul letters with slaves, which suggests a high literacy rate of Hangul during the Joseon era. In the context of growing Korean nationalism in the 19th century, the Gabo Reform of 1894 abolished the Confucian examinations and decreed that government documents would be issued in Hangul instead of literary Chinese. Some newspapers were published entirely in Hangul, but other publications used Korean mixed script , with Hanja for Sino-Korean vocabulary and Hangul for other elements. North Korea abolished Hanja in writing in 1949, but continues to teach them in schools. Their usage in South Korea

1575-490: The 3rd Conference, there were no reports indicating that Kim Jong Il or the central party leadership was planning to change the composition of the Presidium. Stephan Haggard, Luke Herman and Jaesung Ryu, writing for Asian Survey in 2014, contended that the Presidium "was clearly not a functioning institution." The Secretariat, in its current form, was established at the 8th Congress, however, its history can be traced back to

1638-681: The Bureau of Political Protection attached. In February 1949, it became the Political Security Agency ( Korean : 정치보위부로 ). In September 1948, the National Political Affairs Department, which specializes in political in the North Korean region, was newly established. On August 20, 1949, however, after Lee Chang-ok, the deputy secretary of the Republic of Korea, escaped from Haeju, South Korea, along with Kim Kang and others,

1701-568: The Chinese-North Korean border who are known to be free from any ideological suspicions. The Ministry of State Security is tasked to investigate political and economic crimes in North Korea, especially for the former on crimes against the Kim family . It's also tasked to conduct VIP protection duties for North Korean diplomats and employees who work in various North Korean embassies, consulates and other foreign missions abroad. The Ministry

1764-526: The Control Commission, WPK vice-chairmen, heads of CC departments and lower-level provincial posts. It was formerly empowered to elect the party's leader. It can elevate alternate, non-voting members to full members and appoint new voting and non-voting members to the Central Committee at its plenary sessions. The Politburo, formerly the Political Committee, was the main decision-making body of

1827-849: The WPK Charter, the CMC is the highest party body in military affairs and leads the Korean People's Army (KPA). It is responsible for the army's weapons and armaments development and procurement policies. The WPK General Secretary is by right the CMC Chairman. The Control Commission, formerly the Inspection Commission, was elected by the 1st CC Plenary Session after a party congress. It is responsible for regulating party membership and resolves disciplinary issues involving party members. Investigative subjects range from graft to anti-party and counter-revolutionary activities, generally encompassing all party rules violations. Lower-level party organizations (at

1890-498: The WPK until the establishment of the Presidium . The Politburo has full (voting) and candidate (non-voting) members and is the highest WPK decision-making body when it convenes for meetings. Until the 3rd Conference, the Politburo was elected by the Central Committee immediately after a congress. Although the party charter specifies that the Politburo should meet at least once a month, there

1953-647: The agency is little more than a hollow shell used by the elite to coordinate their activities and provide cover for them. The post of Security Department head was left vacant after Minister Ri Chun-su 's death in 1987, although it was de facto if not de jure controlled by Kim Jong-il and the WPK Organization and Guidance Department he headed. In 1998, the MSS migrated under the National Defence Commission , also chaired by Kim Jong-il. Finally, in 2007, it

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2016-455: The beginnings of words. /l/ becomes alveolar flap [ɾ] between vowels, and [l] or [ɭ] at the end of a syllable or next to another /l/ . A written syllable-final ' ㄹ ', when followed by a vowel or a glide ( i.e. , when the next character starts with ' ㅇ '), migrates to the next syllable and thus becomes [ɾ] . Traditionally, /l/ was disallowed at the beginning of a word. It disappeared before [j] , and otherwise became /n/ . However,

2079-414: The compact Koreanic language family . Even so, Jejuan and Korean are not mutually intelligible . The linguistic homeland of Korean is suggested to be somewhere in contemporary Manchuria . The hierarchy of the society from which the language originates deeply influences the language, leading to a system of speech levels and honorifics indicative of the formality of any given situation. Modern Korean

2142-654: The economy or South Korean affairs (such as the Administrative Department, which was re-established in 2006 after being part of the Organization and Guidance Department since the 1990s) were frequently revamped. Although the United Front Department had its ups and downs during Kim Jong Il's rule, in 2006–2007 it was the centre of a purge. The Economic Planning and Agricultural Policy departments were abolished in 2002–2003 to strengthen cabinet control of

2205-728: The economy. Further changes occurred in 2009 with the establishment of the Film and Light Industry Industrial Policy departments; Office 38 was merged into Office 39 (and later re-established), the External Liaison Department was moved from WPK jurisdiction to the Cabinet, while Office 35 (also known as the External Investigations and Intelligence Department) and the Operations Department were moved from WPK jurisdiction to

2268-693: The establishment of the Secretariat at the 2nd Party Conference in October 1966. It mimics the role of its Soviet counterpart during the Stalin era. The WPK General Secretary is the Head of the Secretariat, and the other members have the title of "Secretary of the WPK Central Committee". The body is responsible for overseeing and implementing party policies and supervising party organs. The Central Military Commission

2331-399: The first Korean dynasty known to Western nations. Korean people in the former USSR refer to themselves as Koryo-saram or Koryo-in (literally, " Koryo/Goryeo persons"), and call the language Koryo-mal' . Some older English sources also use the spelling "Corea" to refer to the nation, and its inflected form for the language, culture and people, "Korea" becoming more popular in

2394-452: The fundamental disparities between the Korean and Chinese languages, and accessible only to those educated in classical Chinese. Most of the population was illiterate. In the 15th century King Sejong the Great personally developed an alphabetic featural writing system , known today as Hangul , to promote literacy among the common people. Introduced in the document Hunminjeongeum , it

2457-479: The inflow of western loanwords changed the trend, and now word-initial /l/ (mostly from English loanwords) are pronounced as a free variation of either [ɾ] or [l] . All obstruents (plosives, affricates, fricatives) at the end of a word are pronounced with no audible release , [p̚, t̚, k̚] . Plosive sounds /p, t, k/ become nasals [m, n, ŋ] before nasal sounds. Hangul spelling does not reflect these assimilatory pronunciation rules, but rather maintains

2520-408: The issue between Japanese and Korean, including Alexander Vovin, have argued that the indicated similarities are not due to any genetic relationship , but rather to a sprachbund effect and heavy borrowing, especially from Ancient Korean into Western Old Japanese . A good example might be Middle Korean sàm and Japanese asá , meaning " hemp ". This word seems to be a cognate, but although it

2583-563: The language is most often called Joseon-mal , or more formally, Joseon-o . This is taken from the North Korean name for Korea (Joseon), a name retained from the Joseon dynasty until the proclamation of the Korean Empire , which in turn was annexed by the Empire of Japan . In mainland China , following the establishment of diplomatic relations with South Korea in 1992, the term Cháoxiǎnyǔ or

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2646-639: The language is recognized as a minority language in parts of China , namely Jilin , and specifically Yanbian Prefecture , and Changbai County . It is also spoken by Sakhalin Koreans in parts of Sakhalin , the Russian island just north of Japan, and by the Koryo-saram in parts of Central Asia . The language has a few extinct relatives which—along with the Jeju language (Jejuan) of Jeju Island and Korean itself—form

2709-451: The late 1800s. In South Korea the Korean language is referred to by many names including hanguk-eo ("Korean language"), hanguk-mal ("Korean speech") and uri-mal ("our language"); " hanguk " is taken from the name of the Korean Empire ( 대한제국 ; 大韓帝國 ; Daehan Jeguk ). The " han " ( 韓 ) in Hanguk and Daehan Jeguk is derived from Samhan , in reference to

2772-455: The organization was abolished after a massive purge. It was integrated into the Ministry of Social Safety (later known as the Ministry of People's Security ). In 1951 it was renamed to Social Security Political Security Agency. In 1952, Department of Homeland Security. In 1962, it became Social and Political Security Agency ( Korean : 사회안전성 정치보위국 ). The SSD was created in 1973, being separated from

2835-435: The party leader for their position. The Presidium was established at the 6th Congress in 1980 and is the highest decision-making organ within the WPK when the Politburo and the Central Committee are not in session. With the death of O Jin-u in 1995, Kim Jong Il remained the only member of the Presidium still alive; the four others (Kim Il Sung, Kim Il , O Jin-u, and Ri Jong-ok ) died in office. Between O Jin-u's death and

2898-416: The party opposition, the Politburo was a decision-making body where policy differences were discussed. Since Kim Il Sung's consolidation of power, the Politburo has turned into a rubber stamp body. Leading members have disappeared without explanation; the last case is that of Kim Tong-gyu who disappeared in 1977. Politburo members under Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lacked a strong power base and depended on

2961-534: The present, was introduced at the 2nd Congress . The Central Committee convenes at least once a year for a plenary session ("meeting"), and shall function as a top forum for discussion about relevant policy issues. It operates on the principle of the Monolithic Ideological System and the Great Leader theory . The role of the Central Committee has varied throughout history. In its early history until

3024-631: The proto-Koreans, already present in northern Korea, expanded into the southern part of the Korean Peninsula at around 300 BC and coexisted with the descendants of the Japonic Mumun cultivators (or assimilated them). Both had influence on each other and a later founder effect diminished the internal variety of both language families. Since the establishment of two independent governments, North–South differences have developed in standard Korean, including variations in pronunciation and vocabulary chosen. However, these minor differences can be found in any of

3087-637: The provincial or county level, for example) and individual members may appeal directly to the commission. It was abolished on 10 January 2021 and its functions moved to the Central Auditing Commission. Although under Kim Jong Il's rule the Central Committee apparatus underwent several reorganizations, some departments (mainly those responsible for internal and organizational party affairs: the Organization and Guidance, Propaganda and Agitation and Cadre Affairs departments) were left largely untouched. In contrast, departments responsible for overseeing

3150-500: The right to renew its membership composition. In practice, the Central Committee has the ability to dismiss and appoint new members without consulting with the wider party at its own plenary sessions . The 1st Central Committee was elected at the 1st WPK Congress in 1946. It was composed of 43 members. The numbers of Central Committee members have increased since then, with the 7th Congress in 2017 electing 235 members. Non-voting members, officially referred to as alternate members at

3213-660: The short form Cháoyǔ has normally been used to refer to the standard language of North Korea and Yanbian , whereas Hánguóyǔ or the short form Hányǔ is used to refer to the standard language of South Korea. Korean is a member of the Koreanic family along with the Jeju language . Some linguists have included it in the Altaic family, but the core Altaic proposal itself has lost most of its prior support. The Khitan language has several vocabulary items similar to Korean that are not found in other Mongolian or Tungusic languages, suggesting

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3276-485: The size of the central committee is determined by the congress presidium. The Central Committee Plenary Session is empowered to renew its rank if "necessary". Candidates can be nominated by the provincial committees, but the Central Committee through the Organization and Guidance Department has the final say. In between sessions of party congresses and conferences, the Central Committee is the highest WPK institution. It

3339-523: The store?' Response 예/네. ye/ne AFF Central Committee of the Workers%27 Party of Korea The Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea is the highest organ between national meetings of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea . According to WPK rules, the Central Committee is elected by the party congress and the party conference can be conferred

3402-441: The tense fricative and all the affricates as well. At the end of a syllable, /s/ changes to /t/ (example: beoseot ( 버섯 ) 'mushroom'). /h/ may become a bilabial [ɸ] before [o] or [u] , a palatal [ç] before [j] or [i] , a velar [x] before [ɯ] , a voiced [ɦ] between voiced sounds, and a [h] elsewhere. /p, t, t͡ɕ, k/ become voiced [b, d, d͡ʑ, ɡ] between voiced sounds. /m, n/ frequently denasalize at

3465-464: The underlying, partly historical morphology . Given this, it is sometimes hard to tell which actual phonemes are present in a certain word. The traditional prohibition of word-initial /ɾ/ became a morphological rule called "initial law" ( 두음법칙 ) in the pronunciation standards of South Korea, which pertains to Sino-Korean vocabulary. Such words retain their word-initial /ɾ/ in the pronunciation standards of North Korea. For example, ^NOTE ㅏ

3528-448: Was a 37-year interval between the 6th Congress and the 7th Congress . The Central Committee and its apparatus were weakened greatly under Kim Jong Il, with several offices remaining unfilled. Beginning in 2005 he took several steps to revitalize the party, appointing senior officials to new posts. Pak Nam Gi was appointed head of the Planning and Finance Department , and Jang Song-thaek

3591-410: Was allegedly dismissed for filing false reports to Kim Jong-un and mishandling an aide of Kim Jong-un. He was formally replaced in October 2017 at a WPK central committee plenum by Jong Kyong-thaek . So Tae-ha is the vice minister, while Kim Chang-sop serves as the head of the political department of the ministry. On October 21, 2021, the MSS was instructed not to surveil North Koreans living near

3654-599: Was almost concurrent with General Ri Myong-su 's appointment as minister of People's Security . Other sources also claimed that Kim Jong-un worked at the State Security Department before and/or after his anointment as heir apparent in September 2010. Kim Won-hong was appointed minister in April 2012 as the position was restored following Kim Jong-il's death . He served as Kim Jong-un's aide until February 2017 when he

3717-492: Was appointed head of the Administrative Department . Overseeing all security matters, Jang was indirectly restored to his duties and responsibilities as head of the Organization and Guidance Department . The 3rd Conference of Representatives (held in September 2010) renewed the composition of the Central Committee; however, the power to give it a new term is held by the party congress. The Charter prescribes that

3780-581: Was called eonmun ('colloquial script') and quickly spread nationwide to increase literacy in Korea. The Korean alphabet was denounced by the yangban aristocracy, who looked down upon it too easy to learn. However, it gained widespread use among the common class and was widely used to print popular novels which were enjoyed by the common class. Since few people could understand official documents written in classical Chinese, Korean kings sometimes released public notices entirely written in Hangul as early as

3843-539: Was created in August 2020 and the 8th Congress in January 2021 revealed the existence of an economic policy office. During the 8th Congress a Discipline Inspection Department was created. The Rodong Sinmun is an organ of the WPK Central Committee and acts as the official mouthpiece of the party. Its task is to "achieve a revolutionary transformation of society and the people as demanded by revolutionary ideology and juche idea of

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3906-406: Was established in 1962 by a decision of the 5th Plenary Session of the 4th Central Committee. A 1982 amendment to the WPK charter is believed to have made the CMC equal to the Central Committee, enabling it (among other things) to elect the WPK leader. Despite this, some observers believe that at the 3rd Conference the CMC again became accountable to the Central Committee. According to Article 27 of

3969-418: Was transferred under the WPK Administration Department, whose first vice director became responsible of the MSS daily work, but it continued to have obligations towards the Organization and Guidance Department. In November 2011, it was reported that General U Tong-chuk had been appointed permanent minister of State Security, the first of this kind since 1987, filling a post left unoccupied for 24 years. This

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