Posted on 02/12/2009 8:53:22 PM PST by TigerLikesRooster
Gov’t report shows the military gaining influence in the North
51 of 302 top Pyongyang officials appointed since 2007 February 13, 2009
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, right, accompanied by his new military commanders, watches an artillery unit complete a firing drill. Newly appointed minister of the People’s Armed Forces, Kim Yong-chun, stands to Kim’s left. The North’s Korean Central News Agency released the photo yesterday, but did not say when Kim’s inspection took place. [YONHAP]
A recent increase of post?Korean War generation hard-line military officials in the North Korean leadership may be behind escalated tensions on the peninsula, South Korean officials said yesterday.
The Unification Ministry on Wednesday issued a publication titled “2009 North Korea Power Elite,” analyzing 302 top North Korean officials.
According to the report, 51 officials in the Workers’ Party, central government and military have been appointed since 2007.
“We only analyzed confirmed personnel changes announced by the North Korean government or state media,” a Unification Ministry official said. “We did not rely on rumors or indirectly collected information. If we took into account such nonpublic information, the scope of the shake-up would have been even greater.”
The latest changes in the North came Wednesday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il named new military chiefs, the North’s Korean Central News Agency said. Korean People’s Army Vice Marshal Kim Yong-chun was appointed as minister of the People’s Armed Forces of the National Defense Commission, a position equivalent to South Korea’s Minister of National Defense.
The military commander is a close aide to Kim Jong-il and has served as vice marshal since April 2007.
“Kim Yong-chun is a veteran of field warfare and he is known as a fundamentalist. He is a hawk in the North’s military,” a South Korean government official said.
According to the report, Kim Jong-il also promoted Korean People’s Army General Ri Yong-ho as Chief of the KPA General Staff, equivalent to South Korea’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Ri once served as chief of Pyongyang’s Defense Command.
Over the past two years, Kim Jong-il has reshaped the leadership of the North’s military. Ri Byong-chol was appointed as chief air force commander, Jong Myong-do as chief naval commander and Kim Myong-guk as the operations director of the North’s Korean People’s Army.
Kim Jong-gak was appointed as the first vice director of the KPA General Political Bureau and Jong Tae-gun was appointed vice director of the propaganda bureau. Yo Chun-sok was appointed president of the Kim Il Sung Military University.
“The latest shakeup in the military is a generational change, and confidantes of Kim Jong-il are being appointed to the top posts,” a South Korean official in charge of North Korea intelligence said.
“They did not experience the Korean War, so they talk lightly about war. They are hard-liners.”
Increased military tension on the Korean Peninsula heightened in recent weeks after Pyongyang appeared to prepare the launch of a long-range missile.
Last month, the North threatened to scrap all military and political accords with the South and nullify a western sea border between the two countries, increasing the possibility of a naval skirmish near the inter-Korean limit line in the Yellow Sea, intelligence sources said.
Accompanied by his new military chiefs, Kim Jong-il visited the army’s 681st artillery unit and watched firing practice, a possible signal that he will push the missile test forward despite a U.S. warning not to do so.
“The one-match-for-a-hundred artillerymen’s exercise clearly showed the resolute determination of the servicemen to crush the aggressors at a single blow when they dare intrude into [North Korea] even 0.001mm and their merciless striking capability,” the English-language report of KCNA said.
The Workers’ Party is also in the middle of dramatic changes. Ri Yong-chol and Ri Je-gang have been joined by Kim Kyong-ok to form a troika. Ri Yong-chol is in charge of army field welfare, while Kim, former military affairs advisor to Kim Jong-il’s secretariat, is in charge of the general politburo of the party.
Seoul intelligence officials said the military’s influence over the party has become stronger.
The 12th election for the Supreme People’s Assembly, the North’s unicameral rubber-stamp legislature, will take place on March 8, and the Kim Jong-il regime will enter its third term.
By Jeong Yong-soo JoongAng Ilbo/ Ser Myo-ja Staff Reporter
Ping!
How could they possibly gain influence? Does anything that isn’t military have any influence in North Korea?
We’ve seen this movie before, think Japan in the 1930s.
Awww, that’s cute. Look at the little commie potbelly Orientals pretending to be soldiers. They’re “gaining influence” over a shambling, starving corpse of a population. What big men they are!
Kim Jong-il is backing more aggressive military posture with this move. Chia Head is angling for dramatic international stunt to cow his enemies and maintain N. Korea's leverage in international scene.
Apparently, the new Defense Minister has intimately involved himself in several major military events in last several years, serving as the Chief of General Staffs: missile launches, naval military provocations, and nuclear test.
Awww, that’s cute. Look at the little commie Orientals pretending to be soldiers in their ill-fitting uniforms, make-believe medals, and daddy’s hats. They’re “gaining influence” over a shambling, starving corpse of a population. What big men they are!
BTTT
When my cousin served in the army in S. Korea he learned that the people over there want to be wrapped up in their dark religion and ignorance. They live such horrible lives by their own volition, most of them. Even though America sends them millions in aid, they are told that America hates them and they are game to believe such nonsense. It’s hard to feel sorry of the majority of them. They are bitter shallow people.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.