What's Behind the Ouster of N.Korean Army Chief?

North Korea's official announcement that the chief of the Army's General Staff, Ri Yong-ho, has been relieved of all his posts was "unusual," an official in South Korea's Unification Ministry said. Politburo meetings like the one on Sunday that decided to sack Ri were almost unheard of under late leader Kim Jong-il, let alone publicized, even though it nominally remained the communist country's top decision-making body.

Once the one-man dictatorship was established firmly under nation founder Kim Il-sung, the Politburo degenerated into a rubber-stamp body, and Kim Jong-il rarely summoned it, according to a high-ranking North Korean defector. There have been sporadic North Korean reports that the Politburo met since Kim Jong-un came to power, but this is the first time it was used as a means to sack a heavyweight figure. Usually a Politburo makes decisions on policies or organization, but rarely on personnel matters.

Prof. Lee Jo-won at Chungang University said, "There must be a good reason for announcing the sacking so hastily and legitimizing it this way."

North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un (front left) salutes beside the hearse carrying the body of his late father Kim Jong-il during the funeral procession in Pyongyang in Dec. 28, 2011. At far right is Ri Yong-ho. /[North] Korean Central TV-Yonhap

The regime has traditionally been extremely secretive about personnel replacements, especially when they happened during a power struggle. Purges were either kept secret or masked as traffic accidents.

Ri Je-gang, the first deputy director of the Workers Party's Organization and Guidance Department, who was a rival of Kim Jong-un's uncle Jang Song-taek, reportedly died in a car accident in June 2010. Pak Nam-gi, the head of the party's Planning and Finance Department who was apparently executed over a botched currency reform in late 2010, simply disappeared from view.

The official KCNA news agency on Monday said that Ri was relieved of all the posts in the Politburo and as vice chairman of the party's Central Military Commission "because of illness." It did not specifically mention the position of chief of the Army's General Staff. The Unification Ministry official said, "The phrase 'all positions' must include chief of the General Staff."

There is speculation that Ri took the fall for a breakdown in border security because the state media at the same time announced the arrest of "a terrorist who infiltrated North Korea with orders from South Korea and the U.S."

KCNA also mentioned that "organizational matters" were discussed in the Politburo meeting. The South Korean ministry official said, "Ri's sacking cannot be regarded as a matter of the organization, so there could be some other important changes to the party or military."

This could entail a major reshuffle at the top of the military and the party, with Ri's ouster only the beginning of a purge to consolidate Kim Jong-un's rule.

New pictures for the gang of eight from the happy days for Ri: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2822160/posts?page=896#896 and http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2822160/posts?page=915#915

North Korea on Tuesday promoted Hyon Yong Chol to the powerful rank of vice marshal.

Hyon, 61, is largely unknown but he is known to be commander of the 8th Corps of the North Korean People’s Army, which defends areas from north of Pyongyang up to the North`s border with China.

A government source in South Korea said, “Nothing is known about Hyon’s place of birth, education and family relations, so we need to check.”

Considering the timing of his recent promotion, place of duty and records of achievements, Hyon is considered to be strongly trusted by the North`s young leader Kim Jong Un.

Hyon was promoted to four-star general and appointed to the central committee of the ruling North Korean Workers’ Party in September 2010, when Kim was promoted to a four-star general. This suggests that Hyon is a close aide to Kim from the military but has remained under wraps.

Following his promotion to full general, Hyon reportedly took over the 8th Corps, which had been led by Lt. Gen. Kim Song Kyu since 1993. The corps is a unit completely different from the Special 8th Corps, which is also known as the “storm corps.”

The 8th Corps’ main mission is to defend the northern outskirts of Pyongyang, which is considered the “heart of the Democratic People`s Republic of Korea,” and guard the west coast and border with China.

Hyon earned the Kim Jong Il Order of Merit,” which was reinstated in February, to commemorate Kwangmyongsong Day, or Kim Jong Il’s birthday, along with Kim Jong Un’s relatives including uncle Jang Sung Taek and aunt Kim Kyong Hui as well as Kim Ok, who was the consort of the leader`s late father.

http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=050000&biid=2012071897478

picture:

But I guess that this http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/04/30/2012043001371.html is the real boss.

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