ABSTRACT
This work has analyzed the development of the North Korean elite kanbu (or cadre) in terms of political power. The power structure that reflects the domestic North Korean political situation has passed through several changes in the regime’s development. The historical development of North Korean power demonstrates that the oligarchic power structure was the least stable. It has been several decades since the power began its transformation to a patrimonial form from the mid-1970s, meaning that the patrimonial power has proved lasting. This patrimonial power is often symbolized in the image of Mt Paektu in North Korean propaganda. Mt Paektu’s multiple symbolic meanings—the highest mountain in the Korean peninsula, Kim Il Sung’s alleged guerrilla warfare theater, Kim Jong Il’s alleged birthplace, and the mythical origin of the Korean nation—are manipulated to articulate the greatness of the Kims’ power. Both the North Korean and other countries’ power elites are similar in that they occupy key posts in the state bureaucratic machinery, exercising their influence over non-power elites and ordinary people. However, unlike those in other countries, the North Korean elites tend to be not power-seekers, but technocrats. They have been groomed and raised for the purpose of supporting the patrimonial power. The most important unit among the several organizational actors contributing to the maintenance of the unique elite system is the Organization and Guidance Department and its sub-organs in the KWP CC. Unless the functions of this department change, the status quo of the elite system is likely to persist in the North. Of course, this study indicates that a more fundamental factor in any change of the elite system is the patrimonial power itself.
