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President Donald Trump has said he knows something of the North Korean leader’s condition – but he won’t disclose it. NORTH KOREA THIS WEEK provided halting signs that leader Kim Jong Un remains in power and control as sensational reports circulated unabated across the world claiming he is grievously ill or perhaps even dead. Though their significance is disputed, a series of dispatches were reportedly issued in Kim's name to Syria, Cuba and South Africa as well as a letter of praise for local workers. But, as is historically the case when issues arise about its leader's fitness, signals from...

Top N.Korean Apparatchik Back in the Doghouse North Korea's elderly comeback kid Choe Ryong-hae is believed to have been demoted again and undergoing reeducation. Rumors had circulated that Choe has been purged since his name was omitted from from the roster of a committee preparing for the funeral of Marshal Ri Ul-sol, who died last Saturday. A source Thursday said Choe (64) was not purged but dismissed from his post as Workers Party secretary. Reeducation is a milder punishment for senior officials who have made "mistakes." As in Maoist China or the Soviet Union, they are sent to collective farms,...

State funeral list in N. Korea triggers purge speculation A state funeral in North Korea has sparked another fresh round of purge rumours after one of Kim Jong-Un's most powerful aides was omitted from the official funeral committee list. Marshal Ri Ul-Sol, who died of lung cancer at the weekend, is to be given a state funeral on November 11, and the list of 170 names published on Sunday -- headed by leader Kim Jong-Un -- is an official Who's Who of the top political and military hierarchy. A notable absentee, however, is Choe Ryong-Hae, a member of the ruling...

Kyodo News International October 29, 2014 3:30pm N. Korea's most powerful man after leader Kim may be Choe again North Korea's most powerful man after leader Kim Jong Un may again be Choe Ryong Hae, a secretary of the ruling Workers' Party, an official media report indicated Wednesday. Among senior officials who accompanied Kim's viewing Tuesday of a soccer match, the Korean Central News Agency introduced Choe's name before that of Hwang Pyong So, who had been considered by outside watchers in recent months as the No. 2 man in Pyongyang's power hierarchy.

Thirty-three North Koreans face execution after being charged with attempting to overthrow the repressive regime of Kim Jong-un. The Koreans have landed themselves in hot water after it emerged they had worked with South Korean Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook and received money to set up 500 underground churches. It is understood they will be put to death in a cell at the State Security Department. Experts believe the North Koreans are being punished more harshly than usual as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un combats a wave of dissatisfaction at the regime's isolationist "juche" doctrine. Missionary Kim Jung-wook was arrested and...

/begin my excerpts N. Korea's Choe Ryong-hae Demoted to Four-star general... Speculation Abounds 2012-12-16 Putting him on the equal rank with Hyun Young-chol and Kim Kyuk-shik... or a censure as a form of warning"" Choe Ryong-hae, the director of N. Korean military's General Political Bureau, arguably the most powerful military figure in Kim Jong-eun era, is found to be demoted by a single rank, from Vice Marshal to four-star general, according to a report on Dec. 16, generating speculation for the reason. In a rally commemorating the first anniversary of Kim Jong-il' death, which was held in Pyongyang Gymnasium on...

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,...