Those who guard Kim Jong Il when he attends an official event or visits a military unit, plant or business establishment are not members of the General Guards Command, as generally perceived, but of a guards command placed directly under his jurisdiction, officially called "Office No. 6, Guards Department, Central Committee of the Workers' Party." The General Guards Command, with the strength of an army corps, is tasked with preventing and thwarting subversive activities and military coups. Housed in the Workers' Party headquarters building in the Changgwang Street, Central District of Pyongyang, Office No. 6 is organized like a People's Army unit. An active lieutenant general of the People's Army directs the guards command and with staff numbering about 1,200, the command is equivalent to a brigade.

When Kim Jong Il goes on an official function, five circles of guards are deployed. Five or six members of the first circle who accompany the national leader act like members of the entourage. Veterans of a 25- to 30-year career, they are senior officials of the Guards Department, mostly holding the rank of full colonel or above. The second circle, manned by 200 to 300 people, takes care of guard duties in an area of about 100m in radius encircling Kim's location.

The third circle covering an area of some 1km in radius from the second circle is manned by staffers of the Events Section of the National Security Agency; the 4th circle responsible for an area of 1.5km to 2km in radius from the third circle by those of the Events Section of the People's Security Ministry (the police). The area covered by the fifth circle, manned jointly by staffers of the Events Sections of the National Security Agency and the Ministry of People's Security, varies depending on circumstances. When an official event involving the paramount leader takes place in the provincial areas, officials dispatched from the Guards Department usually man the first and second circles. Guards deployed in the third and subsequent circles rarely see Kim Jong Il's face.

Kim's inspection of a military unit or a guidance tour of a plant or business firm is covered by the media like the party organ Rodong Sinmun and the Korea Central Broadcasting Station. Photographs and images used for such publicity activities are not taken by media reporters, but provided by "No. 5 Documents Editing Co.," an adjunct under the jurisdiction of Office No. 6 of the Guards Department. Publicity materials prepared by "No. 5 Documents Editing Co." are forwarded to the Propaganda and Instigation Department of the party central committee, which edits them for publicity purposes and obtains personal approval by Kim before releasing them to the media. Articles about Kim's inspection or guidance tours carried in the Rodong Sinmun, for example, are credited to "Political Reporting Team," "No. 5 Documents Editing Co."

The daily life of the guards command staffers is filled with tension as they live under a persistent sense of tremendous pressure from their duties. They have to be constantly prepared for an emergency and no errors, even minor ones, are tolerated in the fulfillment of their personal guarding of Kim. They are notified of Kim's outside movement two hours in advance at the most and only 45 minutes in advance sometimes. While on duty Kim asks them questions sometimes, and to respond to them in a natural way they have to stay alert all the time.

No going out, leave or vacation are permitted to the guard command members. Married officers are allowed to return home once a week, though this can hardly be called leave, as their spouses live in high-rise apartments in Changgwant Street, adjacent to the unit.

Section No. 5 of the party headquarters recruits candidates for the guard command staffers once a year from among 10th graders across the country. Emphasis in screening is given on physical health, family background and intelligence. Family background screening, aimed at looking into potential subversive activity, is quite extensive in scope. Successful candidates are chosen from among those who are not the offspring of senior party and administration officials, presumably to ensure their genuine loyalty to the paramount leader.

The treatment of guard command members is outstanding for both officers and enlisted men. Food and other daily necessaries supplied to them are next to those provided to party secretaries. Monthly salary starts at NKW57 for a private and increases by NKW10 per grade. Such excellent salaries are compared to NKW5 given a People's Army private and NKW7 accorded a private in the General Guards Command. Guard command staffers having served ten years or more are eligible for discharge. Upon discharge they are assigned at the level of guidance officer, the rank of junior official in the party, National Security Agency or Ministry of People's Security.

(Kim Kwang-in, kki@chosun.com )