This is part of a larger series examining some of North Korea’s key institutions. The series has also covered the State Affairs Commission, the Politburo and the Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, the Supreme People’s Assembly, the Cabinet of Ministers, non-Party organizations, and paramilitaries.

The previous parts of this series largely dealt with organizations run by the DPRK’s central government. However, these groups’ management is typically not linked to common North Koreans far from Pyongyang: this analysis is dedicated to the hierarchies which relay the leadership’s instructions to the people: local government