Choe Ryong-hae (left) and Ri Yong-ho
Posted on 07/19/2012 8:57:32 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
N.Korean Army Chief 'Refused to Go Quietly'
A gunbattle broke out when the North Korean regime removed army chief Ri Yong-ho from office, leaving 20 to 30 soldiers dead, according to unconfirmed intelligence reports. Some intelligence analysts believe Ri, who has not been seen since his abrupt sacking earlier this week, was injured or killed in the confrontation.
According to government officials here, the gunbattle erupted when Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, the director of the People's Army General Political Bureau, tried to detain Ri in the process of carrying out leader Kim Jong-un's order to sack him. Guards protecting Ri, who is a vice marshal, apparently opened fire. "We cannot rule out the possibility that Ri was injured or even killed in the firefight," said one source.
Choe is believed to be the right-hand man of Jang Song-taek, the uncle and patron of the young North Korean leader. He made his career in the Workers Party rather than the army. After being appointed director of the bureau, Choe repeatedly clashed with Ri, who came up as a field commander, prompting Choe to keep Ri under close watch and apparently triggering an internal probe targeting the army chief.
The military had grown tremendously in power under former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's "songun" or military-first doctrine, and military heavyweights like Ri who grew in stature during this period were considered threats to the young North Korean leader.
"The firefight has still not been 100 percent confirmed," said a government official here. "It may take some time for us to gain a clearer picture of what happened."
Hell ya!
Choe Ryong-hae (left) and Ri Yong-ho
He was a dead man anyway...
Yeah, least he died with his boots on.
IOW, a slow day in North Korea. ;’)
Thanks TigerLikesRooster.
I see a huge influx of family members sent to DPRK’s Kwan-li-so (their Gulags). Bastards send entire families.
Good for him! Too bad he couldn’t have iced the new limp-wristed midget ruler on his way out too.
One of these days, a General is going to prevail.
So an army general got replaced by a fat-butt desk jockey bureacrat. That’s good. Does he grow chias?
I just love when America’s true enemies start killing each other en mas. Right now both Korean Communists and moslem extremists are busy killing each other. I know that whomever the sitting US President is usually gets the credit, or blame for whatever happens on their watch. Good job Zero! Let’s keep these people killing each other ASAP!
Acting like postal workers!
Yep, eventually he’s going to off a “Made Man.”
Ri looks(ed) like a soldier. Choe does not so much. I wonder how many soldiers Choe had to use to oust Ri, especially since he (Choe) has little real military experience. I suspect the upper officer ranks are a bit unsettled just now.
The other feller looks like a train conductor for Disney.
Yes, he has that soft, doughboy look, doesn’t he?
Yeah, right. Like that fat little twerp runs anything.
What’s a ‘’hae’’ and what’s a ‘’ho’’?
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