N. Korea: Power Struggles Continue as Kim Jong-un Ousts Spy Chief

Chosun Ilbo ^ | February 06, 2017 | Kim Myong-song

[TigerLikesRooster]

Power Struggles Continue as Kim Jong-un Ousts Spy Chief

February 06, 2017 12:25

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sacked the chief of his secret services amid ongoing power struggles in the reclusive country.

The Unification Ministry on Friday said the North's State Security Minister Kim Won-hong was dismissed in mid-January on charges of corruption and abuse of power. He was demoted from a four-star to a one-star general.

Several vice ministers appear to have been executed. Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee said Kim is still under "intense" investigation.

Kim Jong-un unprecedentedly admitted "shortcomings" as a leader in his New Year's address last month. This appears to have been a prod to other officials to make similar confessions, which could be used to justify a widespread purge.

Choe Kyong-hui, a researcher at Hanyang University and North Korean defector, said, "Since Kim Jong-un rose to power, the Workers Party, military and cabinet have all experienced purges, but the state security apparatus had been left untouched. As Kim marks his sixth year in power, he seems to be turning to secret service and law enforcement agencies to complete his overhaul of the system."

Other pundits say the sacking of Kim Won-hong is a precursor to a nationwide purge. In his New Year's address, Kim ordered the mobilization of all North Koreans, which could mean not only press-ganging ordinary people into major construction projects but also a purge of officials who fail to meet deadlines or cut corners.

The North Korean elite is already on edge, and they are likely to get more jittery. One source said one director in the Workers Party died during interrogation by the State Security Ministry even though he had been praised by Kim Jong-un for his good work. "There is a chance of an intensifying power struggle as senior party officials seek to settle vendettas," the source added.

Kim has carried out several brutal purges since he came to power in late 2011 to strengthen his grip among entrenched privilege.

The Institute for National Security Strategy here said in a recent white paper that the North Korean regime has executed 340 officials and ordinary people, including Kim Jong-un's uncle Jang Song-taek, who had arrogated most of the trade with China to himself.

[ronnie raygun]

He needs to be the pig at the pig roast

[TigerLikesRooster]

Kim Jong-un Keeps Uncle in Check

By Kim Myong-song

February 06, 2017 12:29

Kim Pyong-il
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in early 2015 shunted his uncle Kim Pyong-il from his perennial post as ambassador to Poland to the Czech Republic to weaken his position, sources say.

Kim Pyong-il (63), a half-brother of Kim Jong-il, had been ambassador to Poland for 16 years and had an entrenched network of connections there.

The source said Kim Pyong-il was poised to become dean of the diplomatic corps in Warsaw when the incumbent left in late 2014.

The position, which is customarily held by the longest-serving envoy, would have meant hosting various diplomatic events and cementing his status as an influential player on the international stage. Kim Jong-un apparently wanted to avoid this and decided to shunt his uncle abruptly to the Czech Republic.

Kim Pyong-il was born to regime founder Kim Il-sung and his second wife Kim Song-ae.

He was at one point involved in a power struggle with his half-brother but was then sent into cushioned exile, spending altogether 38 years abroad, first as a military attaché in the embassy in Yugoslavia in 1979.

"The presence of Kim Pyong-il, who resembles Kim Il-sung, must be a threat to Kim Jong-un, who is trying to win people's hearts by imitating his grandfather," speculated a researcher at a government-funded think tank here. "It seems the regime has sent a senior officer from the State Security Department to Prague to watch him."

Hong Kong media last year reported that there was a movement among senior defectors to form a government-in-exile with Kim Pyong-il as its head.

[TigerLikesRooster]

N. Korea's chief of missile operations absent from public eye, triggers speculations

2017/02/09 17:31

SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's missile operations commander did not show up for a key military event this week, an unusual absence which some observers linked to the country's alleged preparations for an intercontinental missile (ICBM) launch.

Gen. Kim Rak-gyom, the chief of strategic forces, wasn't present at the defense ministry's briefing session Tuesday marking the 69th anniversary of the North Korean armed forces. It was broadcast one day later by the state-run Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station.

Top military official Hwang Pyong-so headed the event which brought together the commanders of key military branches, including chief of staff Ri Myong-su and the navy and air force commanders.

Observers here linked his absence with North Korea's possible preparations for the test of an ICBM.

/snip

[DoughtyOne]

This guy is such a dolt that I wouldn’t be surprised at some point if someone offs him, and contacts the outside world for new relations.

North Korea looks like it has one bulb on at night from space. Okay, maybe as much as three.

[libsrscum]

Sorry to hear about your parakeet. But I enjoy the tiny views we get into the goings-on in North Korea.

It isn’t much of a stretch to envision his reign not ending well. Can’t end soon enough.

[Nuc 1.1]

Stomp him thin. Four or five of you could do it easy.

[BobL]

The 6 SCARIEST WORDS that a government worker can come home and say to his wife in North Korea:

“Honey, I just got a promotion”

[Stosh]

Do they have lampposts in Pyongyang? If so, Kim might want to look into having them removed.

[chajin]

He needs to find a Seoulmate.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

I’m surprised that the Chinese put up with this asshole!

[dfwgator]

Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked have been sacked.

[TigerLikesRooster]

They have something better, a huge monument called “Juche Tower.” Hang him there, and people can see him from miles away.

[Lee25]

What its news in this news is that that spy guy didn’t get executed

[TigerLikesRooster]

The best deal he can have under this circumstance is to be sent to some collective farm, spending days with pulling weeds out of ground for a year or two, and called back to some post lower than what he used to have.
There are other possibilities which are far worse, but no less likely.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Sorry. The previous reply should have been posted in another thread. My apologies.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ignore the previous post. I made a mistake while trying to correct another mistake which wasn't. :(

[PAR35]

under "intense" investigation.

I expect that an "intense investigation" in North Korea is quite painful and unpleasant. At least with the anti-aircraft artillery, nothing is going to hurt after that first round hits. And with the starving dogs, at least one will rip your throat out soon enough that the pain will stop. But those "intense investigations" probably drag on for weeks.

[DIRTYSECRET]

The south does not want reunification. Basket case gift.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

NK is what China would like to be, but private property has arrived...