Cooperation between the North Korean and Polish Security Apparatuses in the 1980s

Although cooperation between North Korea and communist Poland (formally known as the People’s Republic of Poland, or the PRP) was rather limited in the 1960s and 1970s, ties between the two states grew substantially in the 1980s. Along with a broader rapprochement in bilateral relations that unfolded in the final years of the Cold War, the security apparatuses of the DPRK and the PRP also began to work closely together, collaborating and exchanging intelligence, best practices, and technology that could be used to address both internal and external security challenges.

Declassified documents, preserved in the Archive of the Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw, make it possible to retrace the security and intelligence cooperation between the DPRK and the PRP in the late 1980s. After working extensively in this archive, I curated a selection of key documents for translation into English and for online publication through the Wilson Center Digital Archive. This new collection, and my analysis of it, demonstrates what kinds of information, expertise, technology, and equipment the DPRK hoped to obtain from its Eastern European partners. Read together, my analysis and the collection offer new insights into North Korea’s highly secretive internal and external intelligence and security apparatuses during the late Cold War era. By extension, the collection may also prove useful for understanding North Korea during the post-Cold War era as well.

Poland and North Korea before the 1980s Rapprochement

In the 1950s, Poland and North Korea maintained friendly diplomatic relations with one another and cooperated in a number of different domains. Poland (like the Soviet Union and the other Eastern European satellites) offered considerable assistance to North Korea during the Korean War and during the DPRK’s post-war reconstruction. After the Armistice Agreement was signed in Panmunjom in July of 1953, Poland was selected by the DPRK and China to join two international bodies – the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission (NNRC) and the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) – as a representative for the communist bloc.

While the 1960s were a relatively quiet decade in terms of bilateral relations (largely because North Korea began to perceive the Soviet Union and its satellites as “revisionist”), in the 1970s the DPRK made considerable efforts to revive its partnership with Poland. Despite its effort, Edward Gierek – the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party – did not show much interest in reviving political or economic cooperation with the DPRK. Gierek, for example, did not visit the DPRK, despite receiving multiple official invitations to do so between 1972 and 1980. Poland was therefore distinctive in its approach toward North Korea, as other Eastern European Countries like East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Yugoslavia all sent senior communist leaders on visits to North Korea during the 1970s.

Although Gierek’s refusal to travel to Pyongyang is illustrative of Poland’s general disinterest in North Korea, some Polish voices were favorable to the DPRK during the same period. Most notable, Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski, the Minister of National Defense of Poland from 1968 until 1983, advocated for closer relations with the DPRK. In September 1977, for example, Jaruzelski visited the DPRK and met with President Kim Il Sung and the Minister of National Defense, O Jin U. Although Jaruzelski did make several critical comments about the DPRK in his secret post-trip report, he still spoke favorably about the DPRK and recommended that Poland strengthen relations with North Korea.

Despite Jaruzelski’s endorsements, military-to-military and intelligence exchanges remained rather limited in the 1970s. Although the DPRK proposed several times to Directorate II of the General Staff of the Polish Army for the two countries’ military intelligence services to exchange information on US and NATO troops, in practice the Koreans failed to provide valuable information to the Poles.  

The 1980s Rapprochement 

In the 1980s, Poland experienced a major domestic crisis due to mass labor strikes and the creation of the Solidarity labor movement. Jaruzelski's regime attempted to brutally crush Solidarity in December of 1981 by declaring martial law. While the West unequivocally condemned the Jaruzelski regime, North Korea voiced its support for Jaruzelski's policy.

Following the imposition of martial law in Poland, the two countries rekindled their relationship. Although this new phase in bilateral relations was largely instigated by North Korea, Jaruzelski’s regime (unlike Gierek’s in the previous decade) responded positively to the efforts made by the DPRK. In 1984, Kim Il Sung visited Poland, and in 1986 Jaruzelski reciprocated with a trip to the DPRK. During Jaruzelski’s visit, the two countries signed a declaration on friendship and cooperation, which formally elevated mutual relations to the highest possible level. As a result of these high-level exchanges and agreements, nearly 280 Polish delegations of various types visited North Korea between 1986-1987 alone.

Of course, the relationship still faced several stressors and difficult moments. For instance, PRP-DPRK relations underwent a period of tension when Poland participated in the Seoul Olympic Games and did not heed North Korea’s calls for a boycott. Poland was also only the second Central and Eastern European country (following Hungary) to establish diplomatic relations with the Seoul government. Despite Poland’s decision to open relations with South Korea on November 1, 1989 (which was viewed very critically by Pyongyang), North Korea still sought closer security cooperation with Poland, at least until 1990.

Cooperation between Civilian Security Institutions

In 1983, a delegation of the North Korean Ministry of State Security visited Poland. According to documents related to the visit, the DPRK was interested in learning more about how the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs handled domestic political enemies and internal opposition. Additionally, the North Koreans were interested in purchasing militia equipment from the PRP.

In the years after this visit, the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs regularly collaborated with both North Korea’s Ministry of State Security and the Public Security Department (presumably, this entity is what later became known as the Ministry of Social Security). It is very likely that North Korea’s interest in cooperating with the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs stemmed from the DPRK’s positive assessment of Poland’s internal security policy and the political decisions of Jaruzelski’s regime, particularly Jaruzelski’s destruction of the Solidarity movement.

The DPRK sought to formalize cooperation with Poland through a series of agreements. One of these agreements— signed in May 1985 by the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and the North Korean Ministry of Public Security— allowed five employees of the DPRK ministry to study engineering at the Main School of Fire Service in Warsaw. In May-June 1985, Gen. Kim Yong-ryong and Gen. Władysław Pożoga defined new areas for intelligence and security cooperation between the two countries. The two countries agreed to share information about the US and its allies’ intelligence services, intelligence on any planned hostile actions against either the DPRK or the PRP, and materials related to international terrorist organizations.

When the leader of Poland, W. Jaruzelski, visited the DPRK in September 1986, a companion delegation from the PRP Ministry of Internal Affairs headed by Minister Gen. Czesław Kiszczak also traveled to North Korea at the invitation of Minister of Public Security Gen. Paek Hak-rim. Paek sought to enhance cooperation between the two ministries in the fields of science, technology, and firefighting, as well as to continue to share experiences in maintaining public order and combating crime. Deputy Minister of the Ministry of State Security Gen. Kim Yong-ryong also outlined specific areas for technical cooperation with Poland and also suggested the two countries undertake joint operations together.

In response, the Poles invited the Minister of State Security Ri Chin-su to visit the PRP. On July 31, 1987, in Warsaw, Ri and Kiszczak signed a cooperation agreement with an indefinite duration. The agreement expanded the scope of information exchanges between the two ministries on the “opponent” (not clearly named) and terrorist organization. In addition, the agreement established cooperation in counterintelligence and in acquiring, training, and servicing technical equipment for operational purposes. The agreement left open the possibility of signing additional protocols, which could specify new areas for cooperation.

Another agreement, signed in Warsaw in February of 1989, established a wider range of cooperation between the PRP Ministry of Internal Affairs and the DPRK Ministry of Public Security. Under this treaty, the two parties were to exchange information and consult on the disclosure and prevention of dangerous crimes. Additionally, they would also share forensic techniques, road traffic organization, and fire protection methods. The agreement had a lifespan of five years and could be renewed automatically for another five years, unless one of the parties requested otherwise.

The records of several bilateral meetings held after February 1989 highlight the issues that were of particular interest to the DPRK. In April 1989, a four-person delegation from the DPRK Ministry of State Security came to Poland to explore the use of computers by civilian counterintelligence. The same month, a six-member delegation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs traveled to North Korea in order to participate in the Seventeenth International Forensic Symposium in Pyongyang. During the visit to North Korea, the Polish delegation provided documentation to the North Koreans on the use of laser technology in forensic science and documentation for a computerized semi-automatic fingerprint registration system. In addition, the North Koreans informed the Ministry of Internal Affairs, via the embassy in Warsaw, that in the spring 1990, a five-member delegation from the Ministry of Public Security would visit Poland to learn more about the use of computers with the PESEL system, also known as the Universal Electronic System for Registration of the Population.

13th World Festival of Youth and Students

From 1988 onward, North Korea and Poland worked together to prepare for the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students,which would take place in Pyongyang in July of 1989. The festival involved the largest influx of foreigners to North Kora in the history of the DPRK. To ensure the success of the festival, the DPRK security apparatus requested assistance from a number of communist countries. Minister of State Security Ri Chin-su raised the issue of security for the festival with Poland during a visit in July 1988.

The representatives of the PRP’s Ministry of Internal Affairs were later invited to a meeting of state security functionaries from fraternal countries, which took place on January 24-26, 1989 in Pyongyang. One document produced during this meeting includes a long list of the expectations presented by the Ministry of State Security. Apart from the Poles and the North Koreans, delegates of the security apparatuses from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Cuba, East Germany, and the USSR also took part in the meeting.

During the conference in Pyongyang, the North Koreans also expressed their wish to receive, or rent, from the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs, several pieces of high-tech equipment manufactured in the Federal Republic of Germany. This equipment included bomb and mine detectors and portable radiation detectors. The Ministry of State Security also expected the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs to host a two-member operational team several weeks before the festival began, presumably for training.

The Military Intelligence Services in 1989

In mid-1989, the DPRK military intelligence service attempted to renew cooperation with Directorate II of the General Staff of the Polish Army. The head of Directorate II, Gen. Roman Misztal, visited the DPRK from May 29-June 5, 1989, at the invitation of the Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army, Gen. Choe Kwang. During Misztal’s visit, he spoke with the DPRK’s chief of military intelligence, Brig. Gen Kim Tae-sik. This was the first time in the history of Polish-North Korean relations that the heads of both military intelligence services talked face-to-face.

The North Koreans expressed their interest in purchasing modern equipment for signals intelligence, learning from the Polish experience in special forces training, and in establishing operational cooperation. Kim Tae-sik asked whether Polish members of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, who occasionally visited South Korea, could collect military intelligence on behalf of the DPRK, as well as if military officers under diplomatic cover could do the same following the establishment of diplomatic relations between Poland and South Korea.  Gen. Misztal informed Gen. Kim Tae-sik that Directorate II did not plan to place its officers in Seoul.

The proposal to establish operational cooperation with Polish military intelligence was an unprecedented step for the DPRK military intelligence, which had not attempted such cooperation with their security counterparts in other European communist countries. After consultations with their representatives, as well as with the head of Soviet military intelligence (GRU) Gen. Vladlen Mikhailov, Gen. Misztal learned that the Koreans made no such offer to any other intelligence service.

Despite the recommendation by the chief of the Directorate II to consider the use of Polish officers at the NNSC to perform certain intelligence tasks in favor of the DPRK, Chief of General Staff of the Polish Army Gen. Józef Użycki rejected the idea, considering it dangerous. As regards for cooperation in the other fields though, Gen. Użycki had no objections.  In order to hold further discussions on potential cooperation, at the end of December 1989, Chief of General Staff of the Polish Army Gen. Józef Użycki sent an invitation to Korean People’s Army General Staff inviting Gen. Kim Tae-sik to visit the Polish military intelligence headquarters in 1990. We do not know whether it actually took place because the process of democratization had already begun in Poland, and the DPRK authorities naturally viewed Poland’s political transition in a negative light. Moreover, most of the documents produced by the Polish security services in 1990 are still classified in 2022.

Conclusion

In the first half of the 1980s, the DPRK initiated cooperation between its security services and that of communist Poland. Although both countries sought to benefit from the many agreements and exchanges that were established during this period, generally speaking North Kore had more to gain from cooperation and collaboration with Poland. For this reason, North Korea continued to engage the Polish state security services even when the PRP made political decisions that the DPRK vehemently disagreed with, such as participating in the 1988 Seoul Olympics or exchanging diplomatic recognition with South Korea. The North Korean political elite was therefore, in some ways, pragmatic in their decision-making, as they sought to benefit as much as possible, even when the political winds were not blowing in their favor.

List of Documents

Document No. 1
DPRK Talking Points [on Cooperation with the Ministry of State Security for the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students], January 1989
AIPN, 1585/16343. Contributed by Marek Hańderek and translated by Jerzy Giebułtowski.

A list of DPRK Ministry of State Security objectives, as reported by Poland's Ministry of Internal Affairs, in obtaining support from Soviet and Eastern Europe intelligence agencies for the upcoming World Festival of Youth and Students.

Document No. 2
Letter, Czesław Żmuda to Czesław Kiszczak [on DPRK Ministry of State Security Requests for Technical and Material Assistance], 12 April 1989
AIPN, 1585/16343. Contributed by Marek Hańderek and translated by Jerzy Giebułtowski.

Czesław Żmuda reports on requests for assistance from North Korea's Ministry of State Security.

Document No. 3
Memorandum from Cpt. Roman Dziedziejko [on a Meeting with Ri Man-sik], 17 March 1989
AIPN, 1585/16343. Contributed by Marek Hańderek and translated by Jerzy Giebułtowski.

Roman Dziedziejko reports that a delegation from the DPRK Ministry of State Security will come to Poland (as well as East Germany and Bulgaria) for counterintelligence training.

Document No. 4
Letter, Acting Minister of State Security of the DPRK Kim Yong-ryong to Comrade Czesław Kiszczak, Minister of Internal Affairs, 23 August 1988
AIPN, 1585/16343. Contributed by Marek Hańderek and translated by Jerzy Giebułtowski.

Kim Yong-ryong asks whether the North Korean Ministry of State Security may send specialists to Poland for counterintelligence training ahead of the 13th World Youth and Students Festival.

Document No. 5
Memorandum on Cooperation between the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of State Security of the DPRK and the Ministry of Interior of the People’s Republic of Poland, December 1985
AIPN, 1585/16343. Contributed by Marek Hańderek and translated by Jerzy Giebułtowski.

An overview of exchanges between the DPRK and Poland and Polish assistance rendered to North Korea in the areas of intelligence and internal security from 1983-1985.

Document No. 6
Minutes of Discussions between the Delegations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the People’s Republic of Poland and the Ministry of State Security of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, 4 June 1985
AIPN, 1585/16343. Contributed by Marek Hańderek and translated by Jerzy Giebułtowski.

North Korean and Polish intelligence leaders discuss the intelligence services of the United States and other non-communist nations, possible operations by Western intelligence services against the DPRK and the PRP, as well as the activity of international terrorist organizations.

Document No. 7
Minutes of the Visit of a Delegation from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the People’s Republic of Poland (PRL) in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, 10 October 1986
AIPN, 1585/16969. Contributed by Marek Hańderek and translated by Jerzy Giebułtowski.

Paek Hak-rim suggests stepping up cooperation between North Korea and Poland in the fields of science, technology, and firefighting, as well as continuing exchange visits to share experiences in maintaining public order and combating crime. Kim Yong-ryong also suggests that information exchanges and technical cooperation be enhanced.

Document No. 8
Letter, Embassy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in Poland to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Poland, 3 April 1990
AIPN, 1585/15328. Contributed by Marek Hańderek and translated by Jerzy Giebułtowski.

The North Korean Embassy informs Poland's Ministry of Internal Affairs that a five-member delegation from the Ministry of Public Security would visit and they were interested in the functioning of the PESEL system and the application of computers in its operations.

Document No. 9
Agreement on Cooperation between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the People's Republic of Poland and the Ministry of State Security of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, 31 July 1987
AIPN, 1585/15289. Contributed by Marek Hańderek and translated by Jerzy Giebułtowski.

An agreement between the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and the North Korean Ministry of State Security expanding information exchanges between the two ministries on "opponents" and terrorist organizations. In addition, the agreement established cooperation in counterintelligence and in acquiring, training, and servicing technical equipment for operational purposes.

Document No. 10
Agreement on Cooperation between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the People's Republic of Poland and the Ministry of Public Security of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, 14 February 1989
AIPN, 1585/15288. Contributed by Marek Hańderek and translated by Jerzy Giebułtowski.

Poland and North Korea agree to exchange information and consult on the prevention and disclosure of dangerous crimes and to share experiences in forensic techniques and road traffic organization and fire protection.

Document No. 11
Memorandum on Studies of Employees of the Ministry of Public Security of the DPRK at the Main School of Fire Service (SGSP), 1989
AIPN, 1593/1. Contributed by Marek Hańderek and translated by Jerzy Giebułtowski.

A Polish report on the often difficult experience of several North Koreans at the Main School of Fire Service in Warsaw.

Document No. 12
Memorandum on the Korean Efforts to Establish Cooperation between the Military Intelligence of the DPRK and Directorate II General Staff of the PA, 24 April 1978
AIPN, 2602/20025. Contributed by Marek Hańderek and translated by Jerzy Giebułtowski.

An evaluation of information sharing between the DPRK military intelligence service and Directorate II of the General Staff of the Polish Army on US and NATO troops.

Document No. 13
Report from Roman Misztal to Citizen General [W. Jaruzelski], June 1989
AIPN, 2602/20633. Contributed by Marek Hańderek and translated by Jerzy Giebułtowski.

Chief of General Staff of the Polish Army Gen. Józef Użycki rejects the use of Polish officers at the NNSC to perform certain intelligence tasks in favor of the DPRK, but agrees to cooperate with North Korea in other areas.

Document No. 14
Report on Visits to the Mongolian People's Republic and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, 7 October 1977
AIPN, 2602/13314. Contributed by Marek Hańderek and translated by Jerzy Giebułtowski.

In September 1977, W. Jaruzelski visited Mongolia and the DPRK. While in North Korea, Jaruzelski met with President Kim Il Sung and the Minister of National Defense O Jin U.  Although Jaruzelski did make several critical comments about the DPRK in his secret post-trip report, he still spoke in highly favorable terms about the country and generally recommended that Poland strengthen its relations with North Korea.

Document No. 15
Letter, Brig. Gen. Zenon Trzciński to Comrade Col. Czesław Żmuda, 1 April 1989
AIPN, 1583/16343. Contributed by Marek Hańderek and translated by Jerzy Giebułtowski.

A delegation from Poland's Ministry of Internal Affairs plans to travel North Korea in order to participate in the Seventeenth International Forensic Symposium in Pyongyang.