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All powerful Ministry of State Security expands remit to include foreign currency and border control

Kim Se-won
A man believed to be a security agent monitors the border area. [Photo: NK Times]

North Korea’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) is an extrajudicial intelligence agency responsible for national security and regime preservation that answers directly to the Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un.

Given this role and direct line to the top, the MSS wields immense power. It conducts surveillance and controls political dissent, and has the authority to make arrests without legal procedures and to send offenders to political prison camps, and even execute them. 

In recent years, its already vast scope has expanded to include border control and foreign currency acquisition.

This expansion suggests distrust toward other security bodies. It now encroaches into the territory of the Ministry of Social Security, which as the interior ministry, functions as the main law enforcement organization and manages the Korean People’s Social Security Forces responsible for border and coastal security. It also steps on the toes of the Border Security Command, which comes under the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces.

The MSS’s grip on the border and its foreign currency activities has intensified since the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly impacting the overall economy.

With 90 percent of the economy dependent on China, the border region is a vital political, economic, and cultural gateway. For residents in this area, smuggling is a critical means of survival, so much so that there’s a North Korean saying: “Even during war, smuggling continues.”

However, using COVID-19 as its pretext, the MSS sealed the border and then took exclusive control, thoroughly blocking the flow of foreign currency to civilians. As a consequence, it started to generate profits rivaling those of official trade organizations.

For example, before COVID-19, smuggling in ten Chinese-made cars required a bribe of 8,000 to 15,000 yuan. Now, depending on the vehicle type and price, the average has risen to 25,000–30,000 yuan. 

The MSS’s obsession with foreign currency doesn’t waver even during the Supreme Leader’s birthday or national holidays. Ahead of holidays, traders import supplies for residents in Pyongyang and major provincial cities not only through official trade but also via smuggling.

In border provinces like North Hamgyong, Ryanggang, and Jagang, essential goods such as rice, flour, and cooking oil are smuggled in. Common sense would suggest that bribes shouldn’t be necessary for imports of holiday necessities, but the MSS still assigns foreign currency earning quotas to its regional security offices.

According to internal sources, institutions wishing to participate in holiday smuggling must submit lists and total values of goods to the local MSS office for approval. In this process, private companies pay an average of USD 20,000–30,000 in bribes. They have no choice if they wish to maintain good relations and secure future smuggling opportunities.

The MSS has created a structure that allows profit generation without regard to cost, effectively monopolizing smuggling revenue and using it to strengthen both economic power and political influence.

Its control over foreign currency serves not only economic interests but also as a tool for regime maintenance and enhanced control. It uses economic gains to consolidate power and suppress public dissent. 

However, this behavior exacerbates economic instability and further deteriorates the quality of life for citizens.

While the authorities may view the MSS’s actions as beneficial for short-term regime stability, in the long run, they only deepen economic hardship and fuel social discontent.

Kim Se-won
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