Kang Sok Ju’s New Posts

Kang Sok Ju has been appointed DPRK Vice Premier and and holding the title 1st Vice President of the DPRK Supreme (Central) Court.  KCNA reported Kang’s appointment as Vice Premier on 23 September.  On 25 September Kang was identified in the latter position when he was reported by KCNA as attending a meeting with China’s Vice Minister of Justice in Pyongyang.

Kang’s  appointment as Vice Premier was part of a DPRK foreign ministry personnel migration.  For a number of years, Kang served as the DPRK’s Senior Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.  He was replaced by his primary deputy, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kye Gwan.  Kim was replaced as Vice Minister by MOFA Councilor, Ri Yong Ho.  All of these personalities were central players in the DPRK’s interactions with the US and the Six Party Talks.

Kang Sok Ju is Kim Jong Il’s cousin, as well as one of his primary foreign affairs advisers.  Kang worked for a number of years under Kim Yong Nam, current SPA Presidium President, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Party International Secretary.

New DPRK Central Court

Over the weekend, Kim Jong-il conducted a guidance tour of the “newly-built” DPRK Central Court in Pyongyang.  General-Secretary Kim visited a historic exhibition and was briefed about the construction of the new court building (s).  He remarked, “that the court has developed into a weapon of class struggle and one of proletarian dictatorship under the wise leadership and meticulous care of President Kim Il Sung.”  Like many practicing attorneys in the West, it is likely this is the closest General-Secretary Kim will be to seeing the inside of a courtroom.

He also said during his visit, “Thanks to the strict enforcement of the Socialist Constitution under the WPK’s leadership a revolutionary system and order have been firmly established throughout the society, the three revolutions, ideological, technical and cultural, made dynamic progress, further augmenting the nation’s political, economic and military potentials and the sovereign rights of the working masses have been most firmly protected.”

There are no known photographs of this visit (as yet).  A new Central Court facility has many implications for Pyongyang watchers to hash out.  The new Central Court building (s) certainly has the fingerprints of Jang Song-thaek.  This blends capital city construction with the internal security apparatus.  The new Mansudae Street apartment complex, the Taedonggang Combined Fruits Farm of the MPS, refurbishment and restaurant additions on Kwangbok Street are all Jang-initiated projects.  They are also likely indications of Mr. Jang’s political clout.