Page 30 - 2018 Defense White Paper

| Military Command Structure | State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un is

concurrently serving as the Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army and the
Chairman of the party’s Central Military Commission, realistically maintaining command and
control over North Korean forces.

The State Affairs Commission, as the supreme policy decision-making agency in North Korea,
carries out decision-making activities on key policies such as the national defense force build
up project. The Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army has, under his command,

the General Political Bureau, the General Staff Department, and the Ministry of People’s
Armed Forces. The General Political Bureau supervises party organs within the military and
is responsible for matters related to political ideology. The General Staff Department has the

command authority over military operations, while the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces,
which externally represents the North Korean military, is responsible for military diplomacy
and the administration of military logistics, procurement, and f inance.
The Central Military Commission, pursuant to the Charter of the Korean Workers Party,

deliberates and decides upon measures necessary for implementing the party’s military policy
and guidelines, and provides guidance in overall defense affairs at the party level. The military

command structure of North Korea is visualized in [Chart 1-2] below.

[ Chart 1-2 ] North Korea’s Military Command Structure

Supreme
Commander
Military Security Guard
Bureau Command
General Political General Staff Ministry of
Bureau Department People’s Armed
Forces
××× ××× ××× ××× ××× ×× ×× ×× ××× ×××
Regular Mechanized 91 Capital Anti-Aircraft Armored Cavalry and Artillery Air and Anti-Air Strategic Road
Corps Corps Defense Artillery 11 th Corps Infantry Navy Engineering Construction
(10) (2) Corps Corps Division Division (4) Division Command Force Corps Corps
Defend Pyongyang Special
region Operations
Ground Force
* XXX: Corps XX: Division

3. Military Capabilities

| Ground Force | The Ground Force is composed of 10 regular forward- and rear-deployed

28 Chapter 1 Changes and Challenges in the Security Environment