In peacetime, it is under the command of the Ministry of Social Security, the principal law-enforcement agency, but in case of emergency, it is more heavily armed than the border guards of other countries because it is incorporated into the regular army.

The commander of the Social Security Forces is concurrently the First deputy minister of Social Security, at some point of time Ri Thae-chol (리태철).

The roots of the Social Security Forces began in 1947 with the creation of the 5th Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs which succeeded the 38th Guard Corps.

With the separation of the Ministry of Social Security in October 1962, the People's Guard was created and placed under it.

[citation needed] In the 1980s, the work of the Korean People's Guard was transferred to the Ministry of National Security, and it is understood that in October 1996, the border guard service was transferred to the Ministry of People's Armed Forces, the predecessor of the Ministry of National Defence.