Minister of People’s Security Reclaims 4th Star

Gen. Choe Pu Il, Minister of the People’s Security (Photo: Rodong Sinmun)

DPRK state media reported that Choe Pu Il, Minister of the People’s Security, was restored to his previous rank of four-star General (taejang) per an order of Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n).  Choe Pu Il was first promoted to General by late leader Kim Jong Il on 28 September 2010.  Choe’s name appeared on a promotions list which also elevated Kim Jong Un, Choe Ryong Hae (current Director of the Korean People’s Army [KPA] General Political Department; later elevated to Vice Marshal [ch'asu]) Kim Kyong Ok (Senior Deputy (vice) Director of the Korean Workers’ Party [KWP] Organization Guidance Department), Hyon Yong Chol (then-commander of VIII Army Corps; served as Chief of the KPA General Staff from July 2012 to May 2013 and currently commander of V Army Corps) and Kim Kyong Hui (Kim Jong Un’s aunt and a core member of the DPRK leadership).  Choe was rumored to have been reduced rank to three-star Colonel-General (sangjang) in late 2011, although it is not clear what prompted his demotion.  From about 2012 until February 2013 Choe Pu Il served as the Chief of the KPA General Staff Operations Bureau.  In February he was appointed Minister of the People’s Security, where he replaced Gen. Ri Myong Su.  On 31 March 2013, Choe was elected an alternate (candidate) member of the KWP Political Bureau and at the 7th session (plenum) of the 12th Supreme People’s Assembly [SPA] on 1 April 2013 Choe was elected a member of the DPRK National Defense Commission [NDC].

According to KCNA, the Ministry of the People’s Security [MPS] and the Korean People’s Internal Security Forces [KPISF] “together with the Korean People’s Army constitute armed groups which play the role of two mainstays of the Korean revolution” and in issuing the promotion order Kim Jong Un “expressed belief that all service persons of the people’s security organ and the KPISF would creditably perform their honorable mission and duty as the first-line soldiers protecting the socialist system, remaining loyal to the leadership of the party.” Rodong Sinmun reported that Choe Pu Il’s rank was restored because “The organ of people’s security and the people’s internal security forces are two leading armed groups that, together with the people’s army, form twin pillars of our revolution.  In the past period, members of the public security corps and the officers and men of the people’s internal security forces performed great feats that will forever shine in the history of the fatherland by highly demonstrating boundless devotion and sacrifice in the sacred struggle to defend the party, system, and the people both in the days of glory and days of ordeals while highly upholding the banner of death-defying defense of the leader” and that “the prevailing situation urgently demands the organ of the people’s security and the people’s internal security forces, which are the revolutionary armed forces of our party, to impregnably guard the gateway of the socialist system and to reliably guarantee, with gun barrels and law, the party’s line on simultaneously pushing forward economic construction and the building of nuclear armed forces.”

Graphic of the key bureaus of the Ministry of the People’s Security (Graphic by Michael Madden/NK Leadership Watch).

Ministry of People’s Security headquarters (Photo: Google image)

Choe Pu Il’s February 2013 appointment as Minister created a superficial gap in the power balance among the DPRK’s internal security agencies.  His counterpart at the Ministry of State Security, Kim Won Hong, was a four-star general.  The formal military rankings of these agencies’ leading officials suggest that the one led by a full-general has a more superior position, and valued more by the leader, than an agency led by a three-star general.  Based on his observed and reported public activities, Kim Jong Un appeared to be favoring the Ministry of State Security over the Ministry of the People’s Security.  Both ministries erected statues of late leader Kim Jong Il on the campuses of their respective headquarters, however Kim Jong Un visited the Ministry of State Security after it unveiled its KJI statue, but not the MPS.  The MPS, however, demonstrated its political clout in 2012 when KPISF commander, Gen. Kim In Sik, was appointed Vice Premier of the DPRK Cabinet and later appointed Chairman of the Capital City (Pyongyang) Construction Commission.  Kim Jong Un visited People’s Security headquarters and inspected a KPISF unit on May Day (1 May; International Labor Day) 2013.

The Ministry of the People’s Security is a large security organization consisting of (ca.) 200,000 employees with diverse missions.  In DPRK vernacular, the MPS is “a dinosaur” indicating the immense size and resources of the organization.  The MPS is the DPRK’s major domestic law enforcement and public safety organization.  It enforces DPRK laws and statutes (i.e. misdemeanors and felonies), discharges a number of public safety functions (fire departments, traffic control, road and railway security), administers prisons and labor detention facilities and is responsible for various registration records (the census, birth and death certificates, marriage licenses).  MPS personnel provide security to DPRK Embassies and missions located abroad, to DPRK Cabinet members and other DPRK government officials and DPRK universities and research institutions.  They also support the missions of the Guard Command, which provides close protection for Kim Jong Un and others core DPRK elites.  The MPS and the KPISF also operate several engineering and construction brigades (which some sources claim construct the tunnels used in nuclear detonations) and own several farms and other production sites, including the Taedonggang Combined Fruit Farm and Factory and the 927 Chicken Farm.  The MPS and KPISF are subordinate to the National Defense Commission, but they report to Jang Song Taek in his capacity as NDC Vice Chairman and Director of the KWP Administration Department.

Ministers of the People’s (Public) Security from 2000 through the present (Graphic by Michael Madden/NK Leadership Watch).

Like some other recent personnel changes at the upper tier of the DPRK’s** national security community, Choe Pu Il’s replacement of Ri Myong Su did not involve an aggressive purge of the incumbent official in favor of a Kim Jong Un loyalist.  Despite being removed from office, Gen. Ri appears to remain a member of the central leadership, albeit operating in a diminished capacity.  Like his two immediate predecessors, Choe has spent part of his career in command positions in the KPA’s conventional forces.  Both Choe Pu Il and Ri Myong Su have held the position of Chief of the KPA General Staff Operations Bureau [GSOB].  Choe was head of the operations bureau from 2012 to 2013 and Ri headed the bureau from approximately 1996 to 2007.  Like the Minister of People’s Security, the Chief of the General Staff Operations Bureau leads a diverse security organization with hundred of thousands of personnel, has direct access to the supreme leader and an intimate knowledge of the country’s various power organizations and their activities.  While not a head of the GSOB, Ri Myong Su’s predecessor, Gen. Ju Sang Song, had served as an inspector-general of the Chief KPA General Staff and was the commander of the IV Army Corps.  Since the health-related retirement of Paek Hak Rim in 2003, the MPS had only once been led by a civilian, Choe Ryong Su, who served as Minister for about a year until he was removed from office.  Since Choe’s 2004 dismissal, the DPRK leadership has seemingly earmarked the Minister’s position for the KPA.

**Rumors of purged security officials are greatly exaggerated in the Pyongyang watching community.  Gen. U Tong Chuk stood aside as Minister of State Security in 2012 and vacated his political offices, but was never purged.  Readers can do the math on Gen. U’s status, factoring in that he spent much of his career as an overseas intelligence manager and officer.  VMar Kim Jong Gak was removed as Minister of the People’s Armed Forces in November 2011, but has not lost his Vice Marshal’s rank and was assigned another position.  Hyon Yong Chol, who served as Chief of the KPA General Staff from July 2012 to May 2013, was reduced in rank and assigned command of V Army Corps.  And then there’s Kim Kyok Sik, removed from office as Minister of the People’s Armed Forces in May 2013 after six months in officer.  Gen. Kim, identified as the target of the biggest purge this side of ’56, ended up appointed Chief of the General Staff.

***For fans of James Church’s Inspector O series, “the Minister” in The Corpse in the Koryo and Bamboo and Blood was Paek Hak Rim and “the Minister” in Hidden Moon was Choe Ryong Su***

With KPA Assets in Syria and Rumors of Moscow Trip, Gen. Kim Kyok Sik Remains PY Man of the Hour

KPA officers meet a man injured during the Syrian civil war at a hospital in Syria in 2012 (Photo: SANA/NKLW file photo)

Al-Sharq al-Awsat reported on 3 June (Monday) that Arabic-speaking Korean People’s Army [KPA] personnel are serving as military advisers on artillery tactics and providing logistical support to the Syrian Armed Forces, currently defending the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s ongoing civil war. Citing information from a pro-Assad militia,  Rami Abd-al-Rahman, director of the the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,’ told Al-Sharq al-Awsat “that North Korean officers are taking part alongside the regular forces in the fighting in Aleppo” and that “the overall number of these officers is unknown but there are certainly between 11 and 15 North Korean officers and the majority of them speak Arabic. . .(they) are deployed at several fronts such as the defense factories southeast of Aleppo and at the regular forces’ bases inside the city itself.” He went on to point out that “these officers are not taking part in the field battles but offering logistical support in addition to drawing up the military operations maps. They are also supervising the regular army’s artillery shelling.”

The last observed, credible reports about DPRK military assistance to Syria during the unfolding civil war were in May 2012 and involved dedicated shipments of vehicle parts, munitions’ component parts and ordnance.  DPRK cargo vessel ODAI docked in the Syrian port cities of Latakiya and Tartus during 29 to 31 May 2012.  According to Haaretz, citing elements of the Syrian opposition, reported that “North Korea is also continuing to send arms to Syria. The shipments arrive by air and sea and they are being paid by a special slush fund that the Iranian government set up for this purpose.”   The DPRK has made several public demonstrations of support to its embattled ally including meetings between DPRK and Syrian officials in July 2012, DPRK Vice Foreign Minister Pak Kil-yo’n referring to Syria’s civil war in address to the United Nations General Assembly in October 2012 and a number of exchanges of gifts and congratulatory letters between President Assad and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n).  

The DPRK began contacts and exchanges with Syria in the early 1960′s and established former diplomatic relations in 1966.  Syria was the DPRK’s major conduit through which it provided military equipment, training and advisers to freedom fighter and radical Muslim groups in the Middle East and Africa from the 1960s on.  KPA assets assisted Syria during the October War (Yom Kippur War) in 1973 and provided support, at Syria’s behest and participated in the Lebanese Civil War.  In 1982, KPA advisers were present when Syrian forces quelled an uprising in Hama and later that year KPA forces were deployed to Syria and Lebanon during the 1982 Lebanon War.  Since the 1970s the DPRK and Syria have had an extensive military exchange relationship which has included numerous arms shipments and the deployment of KPA strategic and logistical advisers.  The DPRK Foreign Ministry and DPRK state media have also publicly defended Syria, including issuing official denials that the two countries were cooperating on nuclear weapons development after the Israeli Air Force bombed an alleged nuclear facility in Syria on 6 September 2007.

The Korean People’s Army General Staff, led by Gen. Kim Kyok Sik (Graphic: Michael Madden/NK Leadership Watch)

One of the DPRK’s major players in its military relationship with Syria is current Chief of the KPA General Staff, Gen. Kim Kyok Sik.  Gen. Kim served as a deputy military attache at the DPRK Embassy in Damascus for almost decade starting in 1971.  Gen. Kim managed a number of military cooperation projects with the Syrian Armed Forces, including rehabilitating Syrian military forces in the mid-1970s and coordinating shipments of multiple-launch rocket systems and other military support to various radical organizations.  With the DPRK and its core leadership providing both public and substantial support to Syria during the civil war, and given Gen. Kim’s experience and extensive ties to Damascus, it is likely his recent public profile and switching one senior KPA position for another after six months are partially linked to the DPRK’s continued support for Syria.

Gen. Kim Kyok Sik was also rumored to to have been selected to lead a senior DPRK delegation on a visit to Moscow.  Kyunghyang Shinmun reported “Chief of the Korean People’s Army General Staff Kim Kyuk Sik is being tapped as the (North Korean) envoy and the number of the North’s delegation is likely to be six or seven” and that Gen. Kim and the delegation would arrive on or around 7 June (Friday), timed to occur whilst US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in California.  On 3 June, Interfax quoted an anonymous official in the Russian Foreign Ministry that “no high-level visits are being planned at the moment” between the DPRK and Russia.

Kim Jong Un Visits Kosan Fruit Farm

Kim Jong Un (1) tours the Kosan Fruit Farm in Kangwo’n Province (Photo: Rodong Sinmun).

DPRK state media reported on 3 June (Monday) that Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) visited the Kosan Fruit Farm in Kosan County, Kangwo’n Province.  Attending the visit were Gen. Kim Kyok Sik (Chief of the Korean People’s Army [KPA] General Staff), Choe Hwi (Senior Deputy [1st] Director of the Korean Workers’ Party [KWP] Propaganda and Agitation Department) Pak Tae Song (Deputy KWP Director), Col. Gen. Pak Jong Chon (Chief of the KPA Artillery Command) and Maj. Gen. An Ji Yong.  Kim Jong Un’s last observed appearance was his inspection of the KPA base on Mt. Osong and KPA Unit #507.

The Kosan Fruit Farm is reportedly undergoing a major expansion.  The fruit farm was one of two pomiculture sites on the DPRK’s east coat which received technical advice on cultivation and modernization during 2008 to 2010 through a program of Germany’s Ministry of Cooperation [PDF available from the National Committee on North Korea here]. After arriving at the fruit farm, Kim Jong Un was briefed about the farm’s geography and production.  He recalled a June 2011 visit to the fruit farm by late leader Kim Jong Il and said the farm “an important one to which the leader paid special attention as it is directly linked with the people’s living.”  Kim Jong Un was also briefed about the construction activities of KPA Construction Shock Brigade #618 which has contributed to the Kosan Fruit Farm’s expansion.

Overview of Kosan Fruit Farm and Kosan County, Kangwo’n Province with images from the Kosan Fruit Farm (Photos: Google image; Rodong Sinmun).

Kim Jong Un (1) tours pomiculture plantings at Kosan Fruit Farm (Photo: Rodong Sinmun).

Kim Jong Un was also briefed about the cultivation of apple trees and according to KCNA said that “he felt as if he were watching trees heavily laden with apples in autumn and expressed satisfaction at the fact that the farm has turned into a young orchard.”  He “stressed the need to mass-produce organic compound fertilizer and thus decisively raise the fertility of soil by applying a ring-shaped rotation production system to the combination of fruit farming and stock-breeding” and “also underscored the need for the farm to make full preparations from now on to solve the issues arising in picking and carrying apples and processing fruits, in particular, in keeping with the increase of fruit production.”  Kim Jong Un instructed that a combined fruit farm be constructed on the premises of the fruit farm.  He also toured an irrigation facility.  According to KCNA, Kim Jong Un “praised the builders and employees of the farm for having introduced a modern irrigation system to put the manuring and cultivation of fruit trees on a highly intensive basis and thus provided a scientific and technological guarantee for boosting the fruit production while safely cultivating the trees.”  He also saw a road recently completed by KPA Construction Shock Brigade #618.

Kim Jong Un remarked that “it is meaningful, indeed, that a large orchard has made its appearance at the foot of Chol Pass symbolic of the Military-First (So’ngun) revolutionary leadership. . . a fresh fairyland called ‘the sea of apples at foot of Chol Pass’ will spring up when the project for expanding the capacity of the farm comes to a finish and a sea of apples is unfolded there.”  Kim Jong Un toured a small construction materials factory and said “the expansion project should be completed unconditionally at the date fixed by Kim Jong Il” and he “expressed expectation and belief that the members of the shock brigade and the employees of the farm would make sustained efforts to step up the project and increase the fruit production.”

Kim Jong Un Visits a KPA Fishery Station

Kim Jong Un (1) talks with senior KPA officials prior to touring a fishing boat during a visit to the 25 August Fishery Station of KPA Unit #313. Also seen in attendance are Chief of the Chief of the KPA General Staff Operations Bureau Col. Gen. Ri Yong Gil (2), Chief of the KPA General Staff Gen. Kim Kyok Sik (3) and Director of the KPA General Political Department VMar Choe Ryong Hae (4) (Photo: Rodong Sinmun).

DPRK state media reported on 28 May (Tuesday) that Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) visited the 25 August** Fishery Station subordinate to Korean People’s Army [KPA] Unit #313***.  His last observed appearance was his field inspection of KPA Navy Unit #291.  Attending Kim Jong Un’s visit to the fishery station were VMar Choe Ryong Hae (Director of KPA General Political Department), Gen. Kim Kyok Sik (Chief of the KPA General Staff), Gen. Jang Jong Nam (Minister of the People’s Armed Forces), Col. Gen. Ri Yong Gil (Chief of the KPA General Staff Operations Bureau), Col. Gen. Son Chol Ju, Col. Gen. Ryom Chol Song, Col. Gen. Jon Chang Bok (1st Vice Minister of the People’s Armed Forces), Col. Gen. Yun Tong Hyon (Senior Deputy Director of the Korean Workers’ Party [KWP] Organization Guidance Department), Col. Gen. Jo Kyong Chol (Chief of the Military Security Command), Maj. Gen. An Ji Yong, Lt. Gen. Kim Su Gil and Hwang Pyong So (Deputy Director of the KWP Organization Guidance Department).

Kim Jong Un (1) on the deck of a fishing vessel during a visit to the fishery station of KPA Unit #313 (Photo: Rodong Sinmun).

Kim Jong Un (1) poses for a commemorative photograph with managers and employees of the 25 August Fishery Station of KPA Unit #313. Also seen in attendance is Minister of the People’s Armed Forces Gen. Jang Jong Nam (2), Director of the KPA General Political Department VMar Choe Ryong Hae (3) and Chief of the KPA General Staff Gen. Kim Kyok Sik (4) (Photo: Rodong Sinmun).

Kim Jong Un began his visit to the fishery station greeting military and civilian personnel who manage the fishery.  According to KCNA, he said “the fishery station should catch a lot of fishes with good fishing boats and supply the soldiers on the forefront with them all the year round so that the fishing boats provided by the Party may pay off profusely.”  He climbed aboard a fishing boat and toured the engine room to learn about the ship’s engine and fuel consumption.  He also toured the cabins utilized by the fishing crew and said that “an experience gained by a fishery base in effectively using spent fuel, underscoring the need to make sure that fishermen can have rest in a warm place as their hands are wet in cold water of rough sea.”  Kim Jong Un also instructed that each fishing boat should catch 1,000 tons of fish per year and that the fishery station managers should “write a letter to the Supreme Commander when they honor their plan.”  Whilst touring the fishing boat, Kim Jong Un mentioned that the KPA is engaged in a campaign to grow soybeans,”calling for successfully conducting both soybean growing and fishing operations to provide the soldiers with soybean and fishes all the year round.”  He also  named the fishing boat he toured “naming it ‘maple,’ symbolic of autumn.”

Kim Jong Un also visited a historical exhibition about the fishery and a monument denoting late leader Kim Jong Il’s visit to the fishery station on 25 August 1973.  He also toured a tackle shop and a refrigeration unit.  According to KCNA, Kim Jong Un “called on the fishery station to undertake aquaculture on a large scale while catching a lot of fishes in order to boost aquatic products, adding that it is necessary to cultivate seaweed, tangle, mussel, etc. in a big way” and he said he “visited the supply base on the east coast under KPA Unit 639 a few days ago where he saw it providing good supply service and catching a lot of fishes by putting fishing operations on a scientific basis, urging them to follow the working style and experience of the officials at that unit.”  Kim Jong Un ended his visit to the 25 August Fishery Station of KPA Unit #313 by posing for commemorative photographs with the fishery station’s military and civilian managers and employees.

Kim Jong Un’s visit to the 25 August Fishery Station was the first public event in which all of the senior KPA officials affected by personnel changes during February to May 2013 were present.  This was the first observed occasion in DPRK state media that gathered Col. Gen. Ri Yong Gil (Chief of the KPA General Staff Operations Bureau, appointed February 2013), Gen. Jang Jong Nam (Minister of the People’s Armed Forces, appointed May 2013), Col. Gen. Jon Chang Bok (1st Vice Minister of the People’s Armed Forces, appointed May 2013) and Gen. Kim Kyok Sik (Chief of the KPA General Staff, appointed May 2013).

 

 

**The fishery station of KPA Unit #313 is named after the date (25 August) in 1960 when Kim Jong Il inspected the 105th Tank Division.  The DPRK’s official history marks this as the beginning of Military-First (so’ngun) politics.

***In previous mentions in DPRK state media, KPA Unit #313 had been identified as “KPA Large Combined (taeyonhap pudae) #313.”  It is not clear whether DPRK news writers streamlined the nomenclature of the KPA unit or if KPA Unit #313 had been downgraded from a large combined unit (a KPA unit consisting of several combined units) with its assets merged or migrated to other KPA units as part of a force restructuring process in the KPA.

Choe Ryong Hae Returns to DPRK

VMar Choe Ryong Hae (1) shakes hands with Kim Yong Il (2), Korean Workers’ Party Secretary and Director of the International Affairs Department, after arriving at Pyongyang Airport on 24 May 2013 from a three day visit to China (Photo: KCNA).

DPRK state media reported on 24 May (Friday) that VMar Choe Ryong Hae, Director of the Korean People’s Army [KPA] General Political Department and Member of the Korean Workers’ Party [KWP] Political Bureau Presidium, returned to the DPRK from a three-day visit to China as a “special envoy” of supreme leader Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n).  VMar Choe and a senior-level delegation which included Col. Gen. Ri Yong Gil (Chief of the KPA General Staff Operations Bureau), Kim Song Nam (Deputy Director of the KWP International Affairs Department), Kim Hyong Jun (Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs) and Lt. Gen. Kim Su Gil (Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces) landed in Pyongyang on Friday night.  At the airport they were greeted by Gen. Kim Kyok Sik (Chief of the KPA General Staff), Col. Gen. Son Chol Ju (KPA General Political Department), Ri Yong Chol (Deputy Director of the KWP International Affairs Department), Pak Kil Yon (Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and DPRK Ambassador-at-Large), Liu Hongcai (Chinese Ambassador to the DPRK) and other DPRK and Chinese officials.

Choe Ryong Hae (1) tours the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Park. Also in attendance is Kim Song Nam (2), Deputy Director of the KWP International Affairs Department (Photo: KCNA).

VMar Choe Ryong Hae (1), special envoy of Kim Jong Un, views a scale model of Beijing Economic and Technological Development Park. Also in attendance is Col. Gen. Gen. Ri Yong Gil (2), chief of the KPA General Staff Operations Bureau (Photo: KCNA).

After arriving in Beijing on 22 May (Wednesday), Choe Ryong Hae met with Wang Jiarui, head of the Communist Party of China [CPC] Central Committee International Liaison Department.  On 23 May (Thursday), VMar Choe and the DPRK delegation, accompanied by Liu Jieyi, toured the Beijing Economic and Technological Development District.  According to KCNA, Choe and the delegation were “greeted by a leading official of the district on the spot” and were “briefed on the history of the district and its management and operation.”  Later on Thursday, VMar Choe and the delegation met with Liu Yunshan, the CPC’s propaganda [publicity] secretary and a member of the CPC Political Bureau Standing Committee (presidium).  Liu “warmly welcomed the China visit by the special envoy of First Secretary Kim Jong Un, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee.”

VMar Choe Ryong Hae (L), a special envoy of DPRK supreme leader Kim Jong Un, shakes hands with CPC Secretary Liu Yunshan (R) in Beijing on 23 May 2013 (Photo: Xinhua)

According to KCNA, during the meeting Choe Ryong Hae told Liu that “he came to China as a special envoy of the dear respected Kim Jong Un, adding that it is the invariable stand of the WPK to consolidate and develop generation after generation the DPRK-China friendship associated with the devoted efforts made by the leaders of the elder generation of the two parties and countries” and that the “DPRK will always advance hand in hand with the Chinese comrades to defend the socialist cause in the two countries and boost the friendship and solidarity between the two peoples, he noted, expressing hope that the CPC and the Chinese people would register greater successes in socialist construction with Chinese characteristics under the leadership of the CPC with Xi Jinping as its general secretary.”  Liu Yunshan, according to KCNA, said that “the Chinese party and government deem it very important to steadily develop the China-DPRK friendly relations on a strategic level and from a long-term viewpoint,” that “the China visit by the special envoy is of weighty significance as it is taking place at a time when the Sino-DPRK relations have entered a new era of carrying forward the tradition and future, Liu said, stressing the need to boost the bilateral relations of friendship, a precious treasure common to the peoples of the two countries, down through generations” and that “the Chinese side hopes that the Sino-DPRK relations of friendship and cooperation will comprehensively grow stronger in political, economic, cultural and other fields as required by the new era.”  KCNA also reported that ”both sides exchanged views on the situation of the Korean Peninsula and issues of mutual concern.”

VMar Choe Ryong Hae and a senior-level DPRK delegation (R) meet with Liu Yunshan and senior CPC officials in Beijing on 23 May 2013 (Photo: KCNA)

According to Xinhua, Liu Yunshan “pointed out that peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula conform with the common interests of all countries in the region,” “expressed hope that all relevant parties should stick to the goal of denuclearization, persist on maintaining peace and stability of the peninsula and resolve problems through dialogue and consultation,” “called for the parties to adopt substantial actions to ease tensions, actively embark on dialogue and restart the six-party talks as soon as possible” and “urged the relevant parties to make unremitting effort to realize denuclearization of the peninsula and persistent peace and stability in the Northeast Asia region.”  Choe Ryong Hae, according to Xinhua, said “the DPRK highly appreciated the effort that the Chinese side has made in maintaining peace and stability of the peninsula and on pushing the Korean Peninsula issue back on the track of dialogue and consultation,” ”the DPRK hopes to concentrate its energy on developing its economy and improving people’s livelihood and is ready to create a peaceful external environment for this” and that “the DPRK side is willing to accept advice from the Chinese side and carry out dialogue with relevant parties.”  Liu Yunshan said “it is the consistent stance of the CPC and Chinese government to continuingly consolidate and develop friendly relations between the two countries” and “expressed the readiness to work with the DPRK side to enhance communication, increase common ground and advance China-DPRK relations in a healthy, stable way.”  Choe remarked that “his visit as the special envoy of Kim is aimed to improve, consolidate and develop DPRK-China relations. He said the DPRK side is ready to work with the Chinese side to continuously push forward the development of bilateral relations.”  After meeting with Choe Ryong Hae, Liu Yunshan hosted a reception for VMar Choe and the DPRK delegation.

Choe Ryong Hae’s meeting with Liu Yunshan was a topic of conversation at the daily news conference at the Chinese Foreign Ministry on 24 May.  Asked about the Choe-Liu meeting, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said “through the current visit, we hope to consolidate and develop China-DPRK relations, ease the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula, push for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and promote the resolution of related issues through dialogue and consultations.”  Hong also expanded on Liu Yunshan’s remarks during his meeting with Choe saying that Liu “pointed out: eace and stability on the Korean Peninsula serve the common interests of countries in the region.  It is hoped that the parties concerned will stick to the goal of denuclearizing the peninsula, remain committed to maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula and solving problems through dialogue and consultations, take concrete action to ease tensions, actively pursue dialogue and consultations, restart the Six-Party Talks as soon as possible, and make unremitting efforts to achieve the denuclearization of the peninsula as well as lasting peace and stability in Northeast Asia.”

VMar Choe Ryong Hae (L), Director of the KPA General Political Department and Vice Chairman of the KWP Central Military Commission, shakes hands with Gen. Fan Changlong (R), Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission in Beijing on 24 May 2013 (Photo: PRC MOD)

VMar Choe Ryong Hae (1), a special envoy of DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, talks with Gen. Fan Changlong (2), Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission during a meeting in Beijing on 24 May 2013 (Photo: KCNA)

VMar Choe Ryong Hae (1) and a senior DPRK delegation pose for a commemorative photograph with CPC Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Gen. Fan Changlong (2) and senior PLA officials in Beijing on 24 May 2013 (Photo: KCNA)

On 24 May (Friday), Choe Ryong Hae and the DPRK delegation met with Gen. Fan Changlong, Member of the CPC Political Bureau and Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission.  Gen. Fan “warmly welcomed the special envoy’s visit to China” and “noted that the two armies and peoples forged the militant friendship, fighting shoulder to shoulder in the same trench,” according to KCNA.  Fan also said Choe’s visit “to China is of great significance in the development of the bilateral ties, he expressed the belief that the friendly and cooperative relations between the two parties, the two countries and the two armies would grow stronger on a new high stage.”  VMar Choe told Gen. Fan “that the friendship between the DPRK and China was sealed in blood in the hard-fought battlefields including the anti-Japanese war, the war for liberating Northeast China and the Fatherland Liberation War, adding that it is an issue of particular importance in defending socialism in the two countries to boost the exchange and cooperation between the two armies” and “expressed the expectation that the two armies would play the role of a pioneer and vanguard in the development of the DPRK-China friendly ties in the future.”  KCNA reported that “both sides exchanged views on the matters of boosting the friendly ties between the two armies.”

According to Xinhua, during the meeting, Gen. Fan Changlong told Choe Ryong Hae “China always holds the view that the peace and stability of the peninsula serves the common interests of all involved parties” and “expressed hope that the parties involved could stick to the denuclearization, safeguard peninsular peace and stability, resolve disputes and conflicts through dialogues and consultations, and make unremitting efforts for the realization of lasting peace and stability on the peninsula and in Northeast Asia.”  VMar Choe, according to Xinhua, “highlighted the complicated the situation and lack of safety assurances on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia,” said that “ the DPRK people needs a stable and peaceful environment for the development of their country” and pledged that “the DPRK is willing to work with parties concerned to find ways to resolve the current conflicts via dialogues.”

Chines President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with VMar Choe Ryong Hae, special envoy of DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 24 May 2013 (Photo: Xinhua)

Later in the day on Friday, Choe Ryong Hae changed out of his KPA dress uniform into the black gakuran suit of senior party official to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People.  At the beginning of the meeting VMar Choe and President Xi exchanged civilities.  Choe sent along Kim Jong Un’s greetings to Xi who “expressed deep thanks for this and asked Choe Ryong Hae to convey his cordial greetings to Kim Jong Un.”  VMar Choe then passed along a private letter from Kim Jong Un to President Xi.  According to KCNA, President Xi “expressed deep thanks once again to Kim Jong Un for dispatching Choe Ryong Hae as his special envoy and conveying his personal letter.”  KCNA reported that in Kim Jong Un’s letter to Xi, KJU “underlined the need to carry forward and consolidate the traditional DPRK-China friendship provided and cultivated by the revolutionaries of the elder generation of the two countries, Xi Jinping said, noting that the Chinese party and government deem it very important to develop the Sino-DPRK friendly relations on a strategic level and from a long-term viewpoint and that it is the consistent policy of the Chinese party and government to inherit the tradition, face up to the future and strengthen cooperation.”

According to KCNA, Xi noted that “Chinese party and government hope for expanding the friendly exchange and cooperation with the party and government of the DPRK.”  Xi also said “the Chinese party and government have consistently supported the building of a thriving socialist nation of Korean style. . .wishing the DPRK success in developing the economy and improving the standard of people’s living.”  Choe Ryong Hae said “the DPRK and the PRC are friendly neighbors linked by the same mountain and rivers and their friendship has a long history and tradition. It is the invariable stand of the party and government of the DPRK to boost the long-standing traditional friendship between the DPRK and China.”  VMar Choe also remarked that “the armies and peoples of the two countries know well that the DPRK-China friendship associated with the devoted efforts of the revolutionaries of the elder generation of the two countries is a precious one which cannot be exchanged for anything. . . expressing the belief that the traditional friendship would further flourish in the future under the particular care of the top leaders of the two parties and two countries” and “expressed hope that the Chinese people would realize ‘the dream of China’ and achieve bigger successes in accomplishing the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics under the leadership of the CPC with Xi Jinping as its general secretary.”

Choe Ryong Hae (1) and a senior DPRK delegation meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (2) and senior Chinese officials at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 24 May 2013 (Photo: KCNA)

Xinhua reported that Xi Jinping told Choe that “China has a very clear position concerning the issue that all the parties involved should stick to the objective of denuclearization, safeguard the peace and stability on the peninsula, and resolve disputes through dialogue and consultation” and President Xi “called on all parties concerned to remain calm and with restraint, ease the situation and restart the process of the six-party talks, in a bid to achieve denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and safeguard peace and stability in Northeast Asia.”  According to Xinhua Choe Ryong Hae said “it is the sincere wish of the DPRK to create a peaceful external environment to develop its economy and improve people’s livelihood” and that “the DPRK is ready to work with parties concerned to properly solve relevant issues through multiform dialogue and consultation, including the six-party talks” and “willing to adopt active moves to safeguard peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”  Xi also noted to Choe that “bilateral friendship conforms to the common interests of the two countries as well as their people,” and that “the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government will make joint efforts with the DPRK to promote the sound and stable development of bilateral relations.” Choe told Xi that the “DPRK values its traditional friendship with China, said Choe, adding that the DPRK will work with China to beef up high-level exchanges and in-depth communication, so as to constantly consolidate and develop their friendship.”

 

Gen. Kim Kyok Sik Lands at KPA General Staff

Gen. Kim Kyok Sik (annotated in a yellow box) was part of a group that saw off VMar Choe Ryong Hae (1) and a senior DPRK delegation on a trip to China at Pyongyang Airport on 22 May 2013. Also seen in attendance is PRC Ambassador to the DPRK Liu Hongcai (2) (Photo: KCNA)

Two weeks after being removed from office as the DPRK’s defense minister, Gen. Kim Kyok Sik has been appointed Chief of the Korean People’s Army [KPA] General Staff.  Gen. Kim had been appointed Minister of the People’s Armed Forces, the country’s equivalent to defense minister, in November 2012 and held that position until early May 2013.  On 13 May, DPRK state media identified Gen. Jang Jong Nam  as Minister of the PAF.  Gen. Kim’s removal from office, after only seven months in the position, caused a feverish amount of speculation among Pyongyang watchers some of whom interpreted his removal from office as a “purge.”  Gen. Kim replaces Gen. Hyon Yong Chol, who was appointed Chief of the KPA General Staff in July 2013 after the removal of VMar Ri Yong Ho.  There is no word as to whether Gen. Hyon was dismissed with prejudice or if he had been assigned another position in the KPA.  One of Gen. Hyon’s last observed appearances was in late April 2013 when he attended Kim Jong Un’s (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) visit to the Haedanghwa Health Complex in Pyongyang.

Gen. Kim Kyok Sik was identified as the new head of the KPA General Staff in a Korean Central Television report about VMar Choe Ryong Hae’s 22 May (Wednesday) departure from Pyongyang Airport to visit China as the “special envoy of Kim Jong Un.”  Gen. Kim previous served as Chief of the KPA General Staff from 2007 to 2009.  He is the second DPRK elite to be appointed to a senior position that he previously held; the other member of the central leadership to be reappointed to his old job was Pak Pong Ju, who was appointed DPRK Cabinet Premier on 1 April 2013, having served as DPRK Premier from 2003-2007.  2007 was the same year that Kim Jong Un became a viable candidate as the late leader Kim Jong Il’s hereditary successor.

Kim Kyok Sik’s replacing Hyon Yong Chol marks the third senior KPA personnel turnover in two weeks (with Jang Jong Nam replacing Kim at MPAF, and Col. Gen. Jon Chang Bok replacing VMar Hyon Chol Hae as 1st Vice Minister of the People’s Armed Forces), and the eighth observed personnel change to the KPA’s high command since Kim Jong Un formally assumed the supreme leadership in January 2012.  Pyongyang watchers might be forgiven if they find themselves reaching for the Dramamine with the latest change at the top of the KPA.  Finding an easy rationale behind these personnel changes would be, to paraphrase one of our most astute Kumsusanologists, “shallow and misleading.”

Graphic illustrating personnel changes in the senior command of the Korean People’s Army [KPA] from 2007 to 2013 (Photo: M. Madden/NK Leadership Watch)

New 1st Vice Defense Minister Appointed

Col. Gen. Jon Chang Bok (annotated) poses for a commemorative photograph with Kim Jong Un after a visit to the 20 February Factory of the KPA. DPRK state media’s report on this KJU visit revealed that Col. Gen. Jon had been appointed 1st Vice Minister of the People’s Armed Forces (Photo: Rodong Sinmun)

“Despite the fact that after I am gone, it will still not be too late to use your people, why are you in such a rush to try to handle things your way?”–Kim Jong Il, December 2011

Col. Gen. Jon Chang Bok has been appointed as the DPRK’s senior vice minister of defense.  Col. Gen. Jon, the former director of the Korean People’s Army [KPA] General Logistics Department, was identified as 1st Vice Minister of the People’s Armed Forces when he attended Kim Jong Un’s (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) visit to the 20 February Foodstuffs Factory of the KPA.  Jon Chang Bok is a member of the Party Central Committee and was a member of the National Funeral Committee for Kim Jong Il.  His last observed public appearance was his attendance with KJU at a May Day-themed concert by the U’nhasu Orchestra in early May 2013.  Jon also visited Ku’msusan Memorial Palace with KJU and other members of the central leadership on the anniversary of late leader Kim Jong Il’s birth in February 2013.  In March 2013, Jon delivered the keynote speech at the opening of the Taeso’ngsan General Hospital in Pyongyang.  He also joined members of the core leadership when they escorted the Moranbong Band on a visit and performance at KPA Large Combined Unit (taeyonhap pudae) #630.  In August 2011, Col. Gen. Jon led a KPA delegation on an official visit to China.

Col. Gen. Jon Chang Bok (L) shakes hands with former Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie (R) in Beijing on 26 August 2011. At the time Col. Jon was leading a KPA logistics delegation on a visit to China. Jon was appointed 1st Vice Minister of the People’s Armed Forces in May 2013. (Photo: Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

A graphic illustrating key departments within the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces (Graphic: Michael Madden/NK Leadership Watch)

Hyon Chol Hae visits the Taedonggang Tile Factory with late leader Kim Jong Il in July 2009 (Photo: KCNA)

VMar Hyon Chol Hae talks with a Changjon Street resident while visiting the man’s apartment on 6 July 2012 (Photo: KCNA/KCTV still)

Jon replaces VMar Hyon Chol Hae, a former close military aide to Kim Jong Il.  VMar Hyon was appointed 1st Vice Minister of the People’s Armed Forces in April 2012 and was also elected a full member of the Korean Workers’ Party [KWP] Political Bureau and a member of the Party Central Military Commission.  From 2007 to 2012, VMar Hyon was director of the National Defense Commission [NDC] Standing Bureau, which was responsible for logistical and security arrangements for Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un field inspections of KPA units.  During the 3rd Party Conference in September 2010, Hyon sat in the gallery to Kim Jong Un’s left.  From 1995 to 2007 VMar Hyon was a deputy director of the KPA General Political Department, with responsibility for organization.  From 1986 to 1995, Hyon served as Director of the KPA General Logistics Department (under the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces).  He was reappointed Director of the GLD in April 2012, replacing Jon Chang Bok.  It is not clear if Hyon has been removed from his GLD position, which may have been reclaimed by Jon Chang Bok.  It is not clear if Hyon’s removal from office is an actual “purge” or if it is tied to the last week’s dismissal of Gen. Kim Kyok Sik as Minister of the People’s Armed Forces.

Hyon is the latest DPRK elite affected by a series of personnel changes in the party, the government and security organizations.  In February 2013, Col. Gen. Choe Pu Il replaced Gen. Ri Myong Su as Minister of the People’s Security.  Col. Gen. Ri Yong Gil replace Choe Pu Il as Chief of the KPA General Staff Operations Bureau  In March 2013, Paek Kye Ryong replaced Pak Pong Ju as Director of the KWP Light Industry Department and Yun U Chol replaced Kim Ki Ryong as editor of the KWP’s daily newspaper Rodong Sinmun.  In April 2013, Pak Pong Ju was re-appointed DPRK Cabinet Premier, replacing Choe Yong Rim, who was elected Honorary Vice President of the Supreme People’s Assembly [SPA].  Former President of the State Academy of Social Sciences Tae Hyong Chol was appointed President of Kim Il Sung University, replace Song Ja Rip.  Tae vacated his position as SPA Secetary-General and was replaced by Hong Son Ok.   April 2013 also found Ri Yong Yong appointed Minister of Coal Industry, replacing Kim Hyong Sik.  In May 2013 Choe Hwi appere to have replaced Ri Jae Il as the Senior Deputy of the KWP Propaganda and Agitation [publicity and information] Department.

New Minister of Defense Appointed (revised)

Gen. Jang Jong Nam has been named the Minister of the People’s Armed Forces (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

Gen. Jang Jong Nam has been appointed Minister of the People’s Armed Forces, the DPRK’s defense minister.  Gen. Jang, whose most recent position was commanding officer of the the forward-deployed I Army Corps, was identified as Minister when he attended a performance of the Korean People’s Internal Security Forces’ Song and Dance Ensemble.  He is the third person to be appointed Minister in the last year.  He spoke at a loyalty rally of Korean People’s Army [KPA] service members and officers on the one year anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death in December 2012.  Jang also spoke at a party-army solidarity rally in July 2011.  He was promoted to Lieutenant General on late DPRK President and founder Kim Il Sung’s birthday in April 2011.

Jang Jong Nam replaced Gen. Kim Kyok Sik, who was appointed in November 2012 and has served as Minister for approximately seven months.  At the March 2013 meeting of the Korean Workers’ Party Central Committee, he was elected an alternate (candidate) member of the KWP Political Bureau.  One of Gen. Kim’s last observed appearances was his attendance of a May Day-themed concert of the U’nhasu Orchestra on or around 2 May 2013.   Gen. Kim replaced VMar Kim Jong Gak, who was appointed Minister in April 2012 and served for seven months.

A graphic illustrating key departments within the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces (Graphic: Michael Madden/NK Leadership Watch)

Kim Jong Un Watches U’nhasu Orchestra Concert

Kim Jong Un (1) watches a concert by the U’nhasu Orchestra at the People’s Theater in Pyongyang. Those watching the concert with him include: Chief of the Military Security Command Col. Gen. Jo Kyong Chol (2), Minister of the People’s Armed Forces Gen. Kim Kyong Sik (3), Director of the KPA General Political Department VMar Choe Ryong Hae (4), Gen. Kim Yong Chol (5) and Deputy Director of the KWP Organization Guidance Department Hwang Pyong So (6) (Photo: Rodong Sinmun)

DPRK state media reported on 3 May (Friday) that Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) watched an U’nhasu Orchestra concert at the People’s Theater in central Pyongyang.  KJU’s last observed public appearance was his attendance at a May Day (International Labor Day) sports competition of public health workers.  Attending the concert, also given to celebrate May Day, were: VMar Choe Ryong Hae, Gen. Kim Kyok Sik, Hwang Pyong So, Kang Phil Hun, Lt. Gen. Ryom Chol Song, Col. Gen. Jo Kyong Chol, Gen. Kim Yong Chol, Lt. Gen. Pak Jong Chon, Col. Gen. Jon Chang Bok, along with “Pyongyangites and local people of different social strata staying the capital city.”

Based on DPRK state media reporting, Kim Jong Un’s attendance was impromptu.  According to KCNA when he arrived at the venue, “the audience, who had been waiting for the start of the concert, broke into the rousing cheers of “hurrah” with tears of emotion when Kim Jong Un appeared in the auditorium unexpectedly.”  The concert began with the DPRK’s national anthem.  Included among the tunes performed were “mixed chorus ‘May, Month of Victory’, male solo ‘Ch’o'llima Gallops Forward’, female solo ‘For Another Great Surge under the Uplifted Banner of Self-reliance’ and orchestra ‘We Will Never Forget” and “orchestra and mixed chorus ‘The Dear Home in My Native Village’ and female solo and mixed chorus ‘Peace Is Guaranteed by Our Arms.’”

May Day concert by the U’nhasu Orchestra at the People’s Theater in Pyongyang (Photo: Rodong Sinmun)

Kim Jong Un (1) and senior officials of the Korean People’s Army watche a May Day-themed concert by the U’nhasu Orchestra at the People’s Theater in Pyongyang (Photo: Rodong Sinmun)

DPRK athletes who received gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics and employees of the Pyongyang Children’s Foodstuffs Factory performed “What Did We Cherish Deep in Our Hearts” and “We Will Never Forget.”  According to KCNA “the performers sang high praises of the glorious history of the struggle in which the Korean people worked world-startling miracles from debris after the war and paved a wide avenue for prosperity despite difficulties and trials under the wise leadership of the peerlessly great men and a bright future of the great Mt. Paektu nation advancing under the line of simultaneously pushing forward the economic construction and the building of nuclear force.”  The concert ended with “mixed chorus ‘The Leader and the General are Together” encore performances were given of “The Dear Home in My Native Village” and “Peace is Guaranteed by Our Arms,” at Kim Jong Un’s request.

Kim Jong Un “warmly congratulated the artistes, expressing great satisfaction over their splendid performance which is distinct in its ideological and thematic content and style and represents the ardent aspiration and desire, high awareness and determination of the Korean people.”  KJU also described the U’nhasu Orchestra as “as outpost and reliable agitator on the ideological front of the WPK (Workers’ Party of Korea; KWP).”  According to KCNA, Kim Jong Un also said:

The U’nhasu concert marking May Day instills the spirit of defending the socialist country, the will to annihilate the enemies, faith in victory and optimism into the army and people with its might as powerful as a nuclear bomb, he noted, adding it is an excellent concert electrifying the audience and fully reflecting the revolutionary stand and principle of the DPRK.

Noting “The Dear Home in My Native Village”, a wartime song strong in philosophical nature and full of patriotism, was excellently represented in the spirit of the era, he said the service personnel and people of the DPRK would turn out in a decisive battle, singing such wartime songs once the second June 25 war breaks out on this land.

“Peace Is Guaranteed by Our Arms” is a very good song which one wishes to listen again and again, he said, adding: This song fully reflects our principled stand toward the enemies who haven’t dropped their wicked design to stifle our socialist country.

Thanks to such revolutionary and militant songs as “The Dear Home in My Native Village” and “Peace Is Guaranteed by Our Arms”, our service personnel and people will win only victory in their final decisive battle against the enemies, he stressed.

He expressed his expectation and belief that the creators and artistes of the orchestra would powerfully encourage the army and people through creation of arts and performing activities.