4th Party Conference To Convene in “mid-April”

A poster issued in July 2010 for the 3rd Party Conference held 28 September 2010 which says:"Greet the conference of the Workers' Party of Korea as an auspicious event which will shine forever in the history of our party and country!" (Photo: KCNA)

KCNA reports that on 18 February (Saturday) the Korean Workers’ Party [KWP] Political Bureau publicized its decision to convene a 4th Party Conference (meeting of party representatives) in April.  It will be the key political event to occur around the 100th anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth on 15 April 2012.

The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea on Feb. 18 issued the following decision on convening the WPK Conference:

The Party members, servicepersons and all other Korean people are now dynamically pushing forward the grand advance to glorify 2012 as a year of proud victory to be recorded in the annals of the country, single-mindedly united around the dear respected Kim Jong Un, cherishing the steadfast faith that leader Kim Jong Il will always be with them.

Kim Jong Il developed the WPK into the party of President Kim Il Sung and an invincible revolutionary party with his outstanding ideas and theories and extraordinary leadership and successfully led the Korean revolution with warm love for the country and its people, fervent energy and great dedication for over half a century, thus performing undying revolutionary feats in behalf of the Party, the revolution, the country and its people.

We are now facing honorable tasks to build a thriving socialist nation by firmly defending the revolutionary ideas and line and undying revolutionary feats of the President and Kim Jong Il and successfully materializing them without an inch of deflection under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, holding Kim Jong Il in high esteem at the head of the WPK and the revolution for all ages.

The Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee decides to convene the WPK Conference in mid-April Juche 101 (2012) to glorify the sacred revolutionary life and feats of Kim Jong Il for all ages and accomplish the Juche cause, the Songun revolutionary cause, rallied close around Kim Jong Un.

The last party conference was convened in Pyongyang on 28 September 2010 and was Kim Jong Un’s (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) major public debut.  At the 3rd Party Conference, KJU was elected a member of the Party Central Committee and Vice Chairman of the Party Central Military Commission [CMC].  The party charter was revised, a new class of central committee members and alternates (candidate members) were elected and a number of vacant positions on the CMC, Political Bureau and Secretariat were filled.

Kim Jong Un

Kim Jong Il’s death left vacant three senior party positions:  General-Secretary, Presidium Member of the Political Bureau and CMC Chairman.  KJU has been acclaimed with a number of honorific titles and appointed KPA Supreme Commander, but he is neither a member (or alternate) of the Political Bureau nor is he a party secretary.  He is, however, CMC Vice Chairman placing him next in line to become CMC Chairman.  If he is elected CMC Chairman in April, it is highly likely he will also be elected General Secretary, in accordance with the party charter revision in 2010 which made them concurrent positions.  As of February 2012, there were at least six (6) vacancies on the Political Bureau, one (1) in the Secretariat and one (1) on the CMC.  During the 4th Party Conference it is likely some of these vacancies will be filled.  The Political Bureau may also see some upward migration in its membership (i.e. alternate to full member).

Ko Yong Hui

The announcement on the 4th Party Conference occurred one day after the central leadership completed a series of events commemorating Kim Jong Il’s birthday.  If the upcoming party conference is intended to continue the advance of Kim Jong Un’s formal succession, then one possible clue might be found in a quiet renewal of promoting Ko Yong Hui as a national hero.  KCNA reported on 13 February (Monday) that “poets created many works with the approach of the Day of the Shining Star.”  Among the works published was an epic poem, “Comrade Kim Jong Il, Eternal Sun of Military-First Politics” which is about “great feats performed by him in turning the DPRK into a nuclear state, a military-first power.”  Ko is mentioned in the poem as “mother of Korea.”  Korea Times reported:

In an apparent move to burnish her name, the North’s main Rodong Sinmun referred to Ko Yong-hui, the senior Kim’s third wife, as the “Mother of Pyongyang” in an epic poem feting the autocrat Monday.

Analysts say the North has been cautious in mentioning Ko given her upbringing in Japan. She had been referred to as the “respected mother” in 2002 before efforts to elevate her were halted two years later after her death reportedly from cancer.

The North, which relies on a massive personality cult to justify its family rule, is thought to be emphasizing Kim Jong-un’s royal bloodline as it consolidates his power among the elite and over the population.

The junior Kim, thought to be in his late 20s, took power following his father’s death in December.

“There’s an all-out campaign underway to solidify Kim Jong-un’s political power, so it’s natural for the authorities to re-emphasize his mother,” said Park Young-ho, an analyst with the Korea Institute for National Unification. “The same was done for Kim Jong Il’s mother as he consolidated power.”

In 2003 Wolgan Choson obtained Korean People’s Army [KPA] indoctrination materials which referred to “the respected mother.”  The “mother” was also called “the General’s #1 aide” and described as someone who “assists the supreme commander from the close quarters of his body.”  This report also observed that Ko Yong Hui began appearing at Kim Jong Il’s guidance visits and inspections.  At the same time these documents surfaced in the ROK press, page space in Rodong Sinmun was increasingly reserved for essays carrying the by-line “Ko Yong Hui.”

Both the indoctrination and RS writing were early products to promote the KJI-Ko lineage (family) in hereditary succession.  Frequently cited among Pyongyang watchers as managing the Ko publicity effort within the KPA is Gen. Pak Jae Gyong, deputy (vice) director of the KPA General Political Department’s propaganda bureau.  Pak returned to a central leadership role days after KJI appointed his son supreme commander in October 2011.  Pak has attended many of Kim Jong Un’s visits to KPA units, and he has also appeared  quite prominently in footage in retrospective documentary films about, or extolling, KJI’s leadership.

Gen. Pak Jae Gyong attends the central report meeting for Kim Jong Il's birthday at 25 April House of Culture on 15 February 2012

DPRK trading corporation head Cha Ch'o'l-ma gives an interview in a Korean Central Television (KCTV) show aired on 18 February 2012 (Photo: KCTV-Yonhap)

Also linked to the early Ko Yong Hui publicity campaign was Ri Je Gang (Ri Che-kang), a senior deputy (vice) director of the KWP Organization Guidance Department and an aide to Kim Jong Il in the personal secretariat.  Ri died in an automobile accident in June 2010, prior to a major government personnel shuffle.  Ri’s son-in-law Cha Chol Ma was spotted on KCTV during KJI’s birthday.  Yonhap reports:

Cha Chol-ma, known as one of North Korea’s richest men, has been confirmed to be serving in a top position at the Mansudae Assembly Hall, the seat of the North’s legislative body, the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA).

In a Saturday TV program on the late leader Kim Jong-il’s Feb. 16 birthday, Cha was briefly interviewed, saying that the Mansudae Assembly Hall was decorated with thousands of bouquets of flowers out of its workers’ respect for Kim Jong-il, who reportedly died of heart failure last December.

“All of the workers at the Mansudae Assembly Hall are deeply grieving the sudden demise of the great general Kim Jong-il,” Cha said in the interview carried by the Korean Central Broadcasting Station.

Cha, who formerly served at the foreign ministry and engaged in trade and commerce with China, is alleged to have earned more than US$10 million by monopolizing foreign currency earning businesses run by SPA’s standing committees. He is also said to have expanded his wealth and business knowledge while serving as a diplomat at the North’s embassies in China and Pakistan.

Cha is a son-in-law of the late Ri Je-gang, who died in a traffic accident in June 2010 after long serving as one of Kim Jong-il’s most trusted aides, triggering speculation that he had received a lot of help from Ri in the process of accumulating his fortune.

…After Generation after. . .

Recently, ROK media published several stories detailing the family connections among current and past members of the DPRK leadership.  The images below illustrate some of the familial connections among the country’s elites.

 

Kim Jong Un Visits 105 Tank Divison

Kim Jong Un (6th L) poses for a commemorative photograph in this image from KCTV after a visit to the 105th Tank Division. Also seen in attendance are Hwang Pyong So (2nd L) Jang Song Taek (3rd L), Ri Yong Ho (3rd L), Kim Jong Gak (3rd R), Pak Jae Gyong (2nd R) and Hyon Chole Hae (R)

DPRK media reported on 1 January that Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) conducted an inspection of the Korean People’s Army’s [KPA] 105th Tank Division (also known as the 105th Armored Division).  Kim Jong Un visited the tank division’s barracks, historical exhibitions, education facilities and posed for a commemorative photograph with members of the unit.

He was accompanied by Ri Yong Ho, Jang Song Taek, Kim Jong Gak, Hwang Pyong So, Hyon Chol Hae and Pak Jae Gyong.  Kim Jong Un’s visit to the 105th Tank Division, also known as the Seoul Ryu Kyong Su 105 Guard Tank Division,  on the first day of the year continues a precedent set by Kim Jong Il, whose inspections of the division were reported on 1 January in 2009 and 2010.  KJI was not reported to have inspected the division during 2011, however he observed the division’s exercises in December 2010, his penultimate reported public appearance of 2010.

Kim Jong Un’s involvement in military affairs and KPA support for his succession were a significant aspect of the 2012 Joint New Year’s Editorial:

The officers and men of the KPA should cherish an unshakable faith that the great Comrade Kim Jong Il will always be with them and a noble moral obligation to him, and firmly defend his achievements for army-building and add eternal glory to them by force of arms.

The entire army should place absolute trust in and follow Kim Jong Un and become human rifles and bombs to defend him unto death, holding high the slogan “Let us defend with our very lives the Party Central Committee headed by the dear respected Comrade Kim Jong Un!”

At this juncture, when the Juche-oriented cause of army building has entered a new historic phase, the KPA should intensify the Party political work aimed at thoroughly establishing the unified command system of Kim Jong Un, Supreme Commander of our revolutionary armed forces. True to the lifetime intentions of Kim Jong Il, it should take the lead in supporting faithfully the Songun-based revolutionary leadership of Kim Jong Un, the brilliant commander born of Mt. Paektu, and establish throughout it the revolutionary climate of carrying out his orders and instructions to the letter, without reservation and even unto death.

The security of our country and people, heritage bequeathed by Kim Jong Il, and victory in the building of a thriving nation, rest on the arms of Songun. Under the slogan “Training is also a battle!” the KPA should conduct training in an atmosphere of actual battle as befits the revolutionary army of Mt. Paektu, so as to prepare all the officers and men to be a-match-for-a-hundred combatants who could implement independently and actively the operational combat tasks assigned to them, a death-defying corps for national reunification. They should be fully ready to deal prompt and merciless blows at the enemy and achieve national reunification, if they dare infringe upon our dignity and sovereignty.

Yonhap reported:

The lengthy editorial published by the North’s newspapers of the party, military and youth militia is closely scrutinized by officials and experts in South Korea, the United States and other regional powers as it offers clues on the North’s policy goals in the new year.

The North’s repeated appeal for allegiance comes as Kim, believed to be in his late 20s, appears to be consolidating his power he inherited upon the death of his father, the late leader Kim Jong-il, last month.

Kim has risen to the post of the supreme commander of the communist nation’s massive armed forces, in the latest sign that the late Kim’s youngest son has been solidifying power.

The editorial pressed its military to intensify political efforts to thoroughly establish Kim’s “unified command system.”

Winning support from the country’s 1.1 million-strong military, which served as a key backbone of the late Kim’s totalitarian rule, is seen as key for the young leader in consolidating his power.

The editorial praised the untested leader as “the brilliant commander” and “another peerless patriot” who is “precisely the great Kim Jong-il,” in what could be the North’s latest attempt to ensure the second father-to-son power succession goes smoothly.

The late leader assumed power in 1994 when his father, the North’s founding leader Kim Il-sung, died of heart failure at the age of 82.

Despite Kim’s demise, North Korea said it will uphold the policies of its late leader to help achieve a thriving socialist country under the leadership of his son, Kim Jong-un.

“It is the steadfast determination of our party that it will make no slightest vacillation and concession in implementing the instructions and policies he had laid out in his lifetime and that it will allow no change in this process,” the editorial said.

The North’s message underscored its commitment to stabilizing Kim’s leadership by following his late father’s instructions, said a South Korean official handling inter-Korean affairs.

“It shows that internal stability is the North’s top priority,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, citing policy.

Kim Jong Un was also reported to have visited Ku’msusan Memorial Palace on 1 January (Sunday) with members of the central leadership.             This visit was his first reported public appearance since the national memorial rally for KJI on 29 December and his first public activity since he was identified as KPA Supreme Commander during a Political Bureau meeting on 30 December.  KCNA reports:

Kim Jong Un, supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army and supreme leader of the Workers’ Party of Korea, state and army, together with senior officials of the party, state and armed forces organs, visited the Kumsusan Memorial Palace Sunday on the New Year to pay homage to President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il.

He was accompanied by senior officials of the party, state and armed forces organs Kim Yong Nam, Choe Yong Rim, Ri Yong Ho, Kim Kyong Hui, Kim Yong Chun, Kim Ki Nam, Choe Thae Bok, Yang Hyong Sop, Kang Sok Ju, Jang Song Thaek, Kim Jong Gak, Kim Yang Gon, Kim Yong Il, Pak To Chun, Choe Ryong Hae, Thae Jong Su, Kim Phyong Hae, Mun Kyong Dok, Ju Kyu Chang, U Tong Chuk and Kim Chang Sop and members of the Central Military Commission of the WPK and the DPRK NDC and staff members of the KPA Supreme Command.

Kim Jong Un first paid tribute to Kim Il Sung.

He entered the hall where the statue of Kim Il Sung is standing.

Laid before the statue was a floral basket in the joint name of the Central Committee and the Central Military Commission of the WPK, the DPRK National Defence Commission and the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly and the Cabinet of the DPRK.

Kim Jong Un, together with senior officials of the party, state and armed forces organs, paid tribute to the statue of the President and then entered the hall where the President lies in state.

He, together with senior officials of the party, state and armed forces organs, made a bow to the President in humblest reverence.

Then he paid tribute to Kim Jong Il.

He entered the hall where the portrait of smiling Kim Jong Il is displayed.

Laid before the portrait was a floral basket in the joint name of the Central Committee and the Central Military Commission of the WPK, the DPRK National Defence Commission and the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly and the Cabinet of the DPRK.

Kim Jong Un, together with senior officials of the party, state and armed forces organs, made a bow in humblest reverence before the portrait of smiling Kim Jong Il, paying high tribute to him.

A couple of notes;  first, in reporting on Kim Jong Un’s public activities KCNA also reported the day the visits occurred.   DPRK media gradually phased out and then completely ceased during 2002-2003 when it reported on KJI’s public appearances, except for publicized visits by foreign government officials or if he attended national events such as SPA sessions, parades or report meetings.  Second, in reporting Kim Jong Un’s visit to Ku’msusan KCNA reported that KJU and other members of the central leadership visited KIS’ body (“the hall where the president lies in state”), but only visited the portrait of KJI.

KJI Votes Early and Often

Kim Jong Il casts his ballot in elections for local government elections in Ryo'ngso'ng District, Pyongyang on 24 July (Photo: KCNA)

Kim Jong Il (Kim Cho’ng-il) participated in local elections in Ryo’ngso’ng District, Pyongyang, on 24 July (Sunday).  According to KCNA, KJI voted for Pak Hyong Ryol, a manager of the Pyongyang Cornstarch Factory, as a representative to the Pyongyang City People’s Assembly, and Kim Chol Ho, a manager of the Ryo’ngso’ng Quail Factory, as representative to the Ryo’ngso’ng District (kuyo’k) People’s Assembly.  KJI talked with the two candidates after he voted.  He was joined by CMC Members Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) and Kim Kyong Ok (Kim Kyo’ng-ok) and met at his polling place by SPA Presidium Vice President Yang Hyong Sop (Yang Hyo’ng-sop) and Pyongyang City KWP Committee Chief Secretary Mun Kyong Dok (Mun Kyo’ng-tok).

DPRK citizens participate in elections to local government on 24 July (Photo: KCNA)

According to Article 139 of the 2009 DPRK Constitution, “the term of office…of people’s assemblies shall be four years” which is also the term of office for local people’s committees.  Kim Jong Il last participated in local elections on 29 July 2007, but cast his ballot at a cooperative farm in Hamju County, South Hamgyo’ng Province.

Local people’s assemblies [LPA] function like the Supreme People’s Assembly [SPA] at the provincial (city), municipal (city district) and county levels.  LPA’s meet infrequently to approve development (economic) plans and budgets and decide personnel matters on local people’s committees.  LPA’s  also can appoint or dismiss officials of local people’s courts.  Unlike the SPA, an LPA does not have personnel power over local public prosecutor’s offices.

According to Articles 137-144 of the 2009 DPRK Constitution

Article 137. Provincial (municipality directly under the central authority), municipal (district), and county people’s assemblies are the local organs of sovereignty.

Article 138. The local people’s assemblies shall be composed of the deputies elected on the principle of universal, equal, and direct suffrage by secret ballot.

Article 139. The term of office of provincial (municipality directly under the central authority), municipal (district), and county people’s assemblies shall be four years. A new election of the local people’s assembly shall be held prior to the expiry of its term of office according to the decision of the local people’s committee at the corresponding level. When unavoidable circumstances render an election impossible, the term of office shall be extended until an election is held.

Article 140. The local people’s assembly shall have the duties and authority to:

1. Deliberate and approve local plans for the development of the people’s economy and reports on the status of their implementation.

2. Deliberate and approve local budgets and reports on their execution.

3. Establish measures to execute the laws of the state in the local area concerned.

4. Elect or recall the chairman, vice chairmen, secretary, and members of the people’s committee at the corresponding level.

5. Elect or recall judges and people’s assessors of the court at the corresponding level.

6. Rescind erroneous decisions and directives of the people’s committee at the corresponding level and of the people’s assemblies and people’s committees at lower levels.

Article 141. The local people’s assembly shall hold regular sessions and extraordinary sessions. Regular sessions shall be convened once or twice a year by the people’s committee at the corresponding level.  Extraordinary sessions shall be convened when the people’s committee at the corresponding level deems them necessary or at the request of more than one-third of the total number of deputies.

Article 142. The local people’s assembly requires a quorum of more than two-thirds of the total number of deputies in order to meet.

Article 143. The local people’s assembly shall elect its chairman. The chairman shall preside over the sessions.

Article 144. The local people’s assembly shall issue decisions.

Local people’s committees [LPC] have been in use in the DPRK since 1946, although their role has changed significantly over the years.  LPC’s are the mother hen of the local government apparatus.   It functions as the local government authority, between meetings of the LPA, and has   The LPC generates local development plans, budgets and ordinances which are submitted for approval to the LPA, to whom the LPC technically reports.  However, the LPC is the local implementation and execution arm of the central government.  It is tasked with enacting the orders and/or decisions of the SPA, the SPA Presidium, the National Defense Commission [NDC], the NDC Chairman, the DPRK Cabinet and the Cabinet’s ministries or its other subordinate organs.  References to the National Defense Commission or “the orders of the chairman of the NDC” (itemized in article 147) in the context of LPC’s were one of the revisions in the 2009 constitution.

According to Articles 145 to 152 of the 2009 DPRK Constitution:

Article 145.  Provincial (municipality directly under the central authority), municipal (district), and county people’s committees are the local organs of sovereignty when the people’s assembly at the corresponding level is in recess, and are the administrative and executive organs of local sovereignty at the corresponding level.

Article 146. The local people’s committee shall be composed of the chairman, vice chairmen, secretary, and members. The term of office of the local people’s committee shall be the same as that of the people’s assembly at the corresponding level.

Article 147. The local people’s committee shall have the duties and authority to:

1. Convene the people’s assembly sessions.

2. Carry out the work of electing deputies to the people’s assembly.

3. Carry out work with deputies to the people’s assembly.

4. Execute the decisions and directives of the relevant local people’s assembly and of the people’s committees at higher levels; the laws, ordinances, and decisions of the SPA; the orders of the chairman of the DPRK NDC; the decisions and directives of the NDC; the decrees, decisions, and directives of the SPA Presidium; and the decisions and directives of the Cabinet and the committees and ministries of the Cabinet.

5. Organize and execute all administrative work in the local area concerned.

6. Draw up local plans for the development of the people’s economy and establish measures for their implementation.

7. Compile local budgets and establish measures for their execution.

8. Establish measures to maintain public order, protect the property and interests of the state and social cooperative organizations, and guarantee the rights of citizens in the local area concerned.

9. Carry out the inspection and control work aimed at establishing order in state administration in the local area concerned.

10. Guide the work of the people’s committees at lower levels.

11. Rescind erroneous decisions and directives of the people’s committees at lower levels, and suspend the execution of erroneous decisions of the people’s assemblies at lower levels.

Article 148. The local people’s committee shall hold plenary meetings and executive meetings. The plenary meetings of the local people’s committee shall be composed of all its members, and the executive meetings shall be composed of the chairman, vice chairmen, and secretary.

Article 149. The plenary meetings of the local people’s committee shall discuss and decide on the important issues raised in fulfilling its duties and in exercising its authority. The executive meetings shall discuss and decide on the issues delegated by the plenary meetings.

Article 150. The local people’s committee shall issue decisions and directives.

Article 151. The local people’s committee may have non-standing sectoral committees to assist it in its work.

Article 152. The local people’s committee shall be accountable for its work to the people’s assembly at the corresponding level. The local people’s committee shall be subordinate to the people’s committees at higher levels, the Cabinet, and the SPA Presidium.

Pyongyang Hosts 2nd Mass Rally in a Week

A mass rally billed as an “Army-People” solidarity protest against ROK was held Sunday [3 July] in Pyongyang.  This was the second mass rally to occur in Pyongyang within a week’s time.  A rally was held on 25 June at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium “marking 25 June Day of Struggle Against the US Imperialists,” which was a relative quiet affair.  The outdoor rally on Sunday was held to reiterate current rhetorical messages on ROK leadership and protest “the eternally unforgivable and atrocious gross provocative act of daring to toy with our supreme dignity.”      KCNA reports:

The rally was attended by senior party, state and army officials, chairperson of a friendly party, officials of party, armed forces and power organs, public organizations, ministries and national institutions, servicepersons of the Korean People’s Army and the Korean People’s Internal Security Forces, officials in the fields of science, education, culture and arts, public health and media, working people and students in the city, more than 100 000 in all.
A statement of a spokesman for the Supreme Command of the Korean People’s Army was read out at the rally to be followed by speeches.

KPA General Jang Jong Nam said on behalf of the servicepersons of the KPA: Now that South Korean confrontation maniacs without equals in the world dared to perpetrate such extreme provocation as not ruling out even a war against the DPRK, there remains between the north and the south only physical settlement of returning fire for fire.

The powerful revolutionary army of Mt. Paektu has never made an empty talk. It is the spirit and courage of the KPA to deal merciless deadly blows at the enemies till they are wiped out to the last man.

Those who do harm to the dignity of our leadership will not be able to go scot-free on this land and in the sky, he warned.

12th SPA’s 4th Session Elects New NDC Member, MPS

Seen here are stamps recently issued in North Korea to mark the birthday of the late North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, which falls on April 15. (KCNA-Yonhap)

The 4th session (plenum) of the 12th Supreme People’s Assembly [SPA] convened Thursday [7 April] at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang.  Neither Kim Cho’ng-il nor Kim Cho’ng-u’n attended the meeting.  Defying the speculative pronouncements of numerous observers, Cho’ng-u’n was not elected to the National Defense Commission.

Pak To'-ch'un

Pak To’-ch’un was elected to replace Cho’n Pyong-ho on the National Defense Commission [NDC].  Prior to his election to the NDC, Pak was reported by the DPRK media on 6 April [Wednesday] having attended Kim Cho’ng-il’s visit to industrial sites in Chagang Province.  He was elected in September 2010 to replace Cho’n as the CC KWP Secretary of Military (Munitions/Military Logistics) Industry and before that, served as the Chief KWP Secretary in his native Chagang Province (the locale of many factories that produce arms and equipment).

Pak attending a factory visit with KCI during the summer of 2010 (Photo: KCNA)

Cho'n Pyong-ho attends a factory visit by Kim Cho'ng-il in 2009 (Photo:KCNA)

Cho’n Pyong-ho was the primary organizational architect and for four decades directed the country’s arms industry.  When a biographical profile of Cho’n was disseminated in DPRK media in September 2010, he was identified as the Chief KWP Secretary and Political Bureau Director for the party’s organization and apparatus in the DPRK Cabinet.

KPA Gen. Yi Myo'ng-su

In the most widely anticipated senior personnel matter to be under taken on 7 April, Yi Myo’ng-su was appointed to replace Chu Sang-song as Minister of People’s Security.  Chu was “dismissed” by the NDC, which DPRK reported prior to publicizing the convocation of the 12th SPA’s 4th session.  Yi Myo’ng-su has worked as director of the NDC Administration Department since 2007.  He was a key member of Kim Cho’ng-il’s military support network, linked to the office of KPA Supreme Commander.  Along with Hyo’n Ch’o'l-hae (NDC Director of the Standing Committee), Yi has regularly been seen in attendance Kim Cho’ng-il’s visits, inspections and other events for a number of years.

Yi poses for a commemorative photo in May 2010 with other members of the central leadership (Photo: KCNA)

Yi Myo'ng-su (highlighted) attends Kim Cho'ng-il's visit to the Central Tree Nursery in Pyongyang in 2009 (Photo: KCNA)

Prior to his 2007 appointment in the NDC apparatus, Yi served for a number of years as director of the KPA General Staff Department’s Operations Bureau where he interacted regularly with a number of leaders in the KPA’s service commands.  From 1993 to 1996 Yi was chief of staff of the KPA III Army Corps (which defends Pyongyang’s outer environs from South P’yo’ngan Province) where he served under Chang So’ng-u, the late older brother of NDC Vice Chairman Chang So’ng-t’aek.

Yonhap (via Korea Herald) reports on the personnel changes:

North Korea usually holds a parliamentary session one or two times a year to assess spending and accomplishments of the previous year and to approve the current year’s budget.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency did not say a word about Kim Jong-un in its several dispatches on the parliamentary session.

Instead, KCNA said the rubber-stamp legislature named Ri Myong-su as minister of People’s Security, which had been vacant. It also appointed Pak To-chun as a new member of the defense commission, replacing Jon Pyong-ho, who was transferred to other unspecified post. Jon had been deeply involved in the defense affairs.

Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea expert at Dongguk University in Seoul, said that Kim Jong-un not being promoted doesn’t mean there is any problem in the power transfer, but it could be aimed at paving the way for stable power transition.

“The North appears to moderate its pace in handing over the power,” Kim said, noting leader Kim Jong-il is still in charge.

Xinhua’s English service reports about another example of how Kim Cho’ng-il detests large meetings (and bequeathing this trait to Cho’ng-u’n?) and the 12th SPA 4th session’s other business:

The DPRK’s top leader Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea, did not attend the fourth session of the 12th Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) Thursday, the official Korean Central Television reported.

The agenda of the session, held at Mansudae Assembly Hall, included discussion of the work of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) cabinet in 2010 and its tasks in 2011, the implementation of the national budget in 2010 and the mapping out of the national budget in 2011.

Premier Choe Yong Rim made a report on the Cabinet’s work. He said light industry and agricultural production had dramatically improved last year.

Big successes were also made in development of science and technology, cultural construction and other fields, he said.

He also stressed the need to remarkably increase the production of consumer goods and grain to “bring about a decisive turn in improving the standard of people’s living.”

Pak Su Gil, vice-premier and minister of finance, reported on the national budgets.

He said the national budgetary allocations for light industry and agriculture in 2010 increased 10.9 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively, year on year.

Huge funding would go to light industry and agriculture this year, he said, adding 15.8 percent of the total national budgetary expenditure this year, the same as last year, would be spent on national defense.

Party Conference to Be Jong Un’s Quiet Succession?

Kim Jong Un may be elected to the Party Central Committee at the 3rd Party Conference in September

The 3rd Party Conference (which may occur from 6 to 9 September) may be one event facilitating the hereditary succession system of Kim Jong Un (Kim Ch’ong-u’n; Kim Jong Eun).  Anonymous sources told Kyodo News that Kim Jong Il’s youngest son could be elected a member of the Party (KWP) Central Committee.  Kyodo also reports that Jong Un’s uncle, NDC Vice Chairman and CC KWP Administration Director Jang Song Thaek, may be elected to the Party Political Bureau (Politburo).  Kim Jong Un’s complete accession may not be complete until 2012.  It is possible that the Party Conference will be a low-key affair in terms of domestic media coverage, and that Jong Un’s advancement will go unannounced, given Kim Jong Il’s instruction to keep the succession on the “quiet” side.

Jang Song Thaek may be elected to the Political Bureau at the 3rd Party Conference in September, 2010. (Photo: KCNA)

A propaganda official is shown teaching the lyrics of "Footsteps" on a cooperative farm. Kim Jong Il had ordered that performing the song be halted to make the hereditary succession campaign less obstrusive (KCNA)

Kyodo reports:

It is believed that at the meeting Kim Jong Un will be elected as a member of the party’s Central Committee. He is also expected to be elected as a member of the party’s Political Bureau Presidium at a Central Committee general meeting, which is to be held shortly after the gathering of core delegates, the sources said.

Jang Song Thaek, director of the Administration Department of the Central Committee, is also likely to be elected as a member of the Political Bureau Presidium at the Central Committee general meeting, according to the sources.

Currently, Kim Jong Il, 68, is the only member of the presidium.

Jang, the brother-in-law of Kim Jong Il who is believed to be a guardian of Kim Jong Un, was promoted to vice chairman of the National Defense Commission in June.

Even if Kim Jong Un joins the party leadership, it is highly unlikely that North Korea will announce such a move.

As the next step, the sources said, the party is expected to convene a congress — its top decision-making forum — in 2012 and Kim Jong Un is likely to be officially appointed as Kim Jong Il’s successor then.

A party congress has not been held since the 6th session in 1980, at which Kim Jong Il made an official debut as successor to the country’s founder, his father Kim Il Sung.

North Korea has set a goal of ”opening the gate to a great, prosperous and powerful socialist nation” in 2012, the centenary of the birth of Kim Il Sung.

While Kim Jong Un is expected to strengthen his standing at the party in the coming years, he is believed to be trying to build an unshakable power base by winning loyalty from the military.

"Greet the conference of the Workers' Party of Korea as an auspicious event which will shine forever in the history of our party and country!" (Photo: KCNA)

Shin Joo Hyun writes about an analysis of DPRK media in Daily NK:

Rodong Shinmun, it explained, employed the phrase “the Party Center” in its June 30th edition for the first time in 16 years, while Chosun People’s Army employed it in a particularly prominent manner on May 15th.

In that edition of the publication, a three verse song entitled “Let’s defend the Party Center with our lives!” was featured alongside a full-page image of the marching military. This song, which conveys a sense of the absolute need to preserve Kim Jong Il’s safety at any cost, spread throughout society and the military during the 1980s after Kim Jong Il was publicly announced as the official successor to Kim Il Sung at the Workers’ Party Congress of October, 1980.

In the same issue, Chosun People’s Army reminded readers what Kim Jong Il had himself emphasized, “The People’s Army should continue to hold on to the slogan, ‘Defend the Party Center with our lives,’ as we did in the past.”

Ponghwa-ri, a town in Kangdong County, Pyongyang, which is home to one revolutionary historic site is also reportedly the locale for a historic site dedicated to Kim Jong Un (Google Earth)

Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at the 6th Party Congress in October 1980. The Party Congress was Kim Jong Il's public introduction and confirmation as successor to Kim Il Sung (Photo: Foreign Languages Publishing/KCNA)

Ri Je Gang Dies

Ri Je Gang, former senior deputy director of the Organization and Guidance Department and a close KJI aide, passed away 2 June 2010 (Photo: KCNA/dprk.blog.hexun.com)

KCBS reported on 2 June 2010 that Ri Je Gang, Senior Deputy Director of the Organization and Guidance Department, died in an auto accident at the age of 80.  Mr. Ri regularly escorted Kim Jong Il on guidance tours and was a deputy (delegate) to the Supreme People’s Assembly and the KWP Central Committee.  Mr. Ri was one of Kim Jong Il’s closest lieutenants, who began his career at OGD around 1970 as a cadre, and successively advanced as an OGD manager, from section chief to the coveted position of OGD Deputy (Vice) Director, and later, Senior Deputy Director.  He was reportedly a rival of Jang Song Taek, however these reports and rumors have never been conclusively corroborated.  Mr. Ri was rumored to have had a hand in Mr. Jang’s sabbatical, and disappearance from North Korean public life, in mid-2003 to early 2006.

Ri Je Gang managed personnel appointments in KJI’s Personal Secretariat (including the Cadres’ 5th Section and Joy Brigades), as well as having some administrative oversight over the State Security Department.  Mr. Ri had close ties to Kim Jong Il’s 4th wife, Ko Yong Hui, and was rumored as an early supporter of one of Ms. Ko’s sons as KJI’s hereditary successor.  Mr. Ri’s name appears in numerous rumors, reports and other accounts on Kim Jong Un’s succession campaign, and has been identified as one of KJU’s political tutors, as well as one of his most enthusiastic supporters among the core elite.

According to defector reporting,  Ri Je Gang’s son-in-law, Cha Chol Ma, manages several profitable trading corporations on behalf of the Supreme People’s Assembly.  Mr. Ri reportedly had an easy-going personality and a good sense of humor.

Mr. Ri escorted Kim Jong Il on the latter’s recent guidance tours in May 2010 (about which RFA has a short piece with a different take than KCNA’s hagiographic chronicles), and was reported by the North Korean media on 2 June 2010 as having have joined the Supreme Commander for a concert by the Guard Command-linked KPA Unit 963.

Among the audience were KPA General Yun Jong Rin, KPA Col. General Kim Song Dok and other commanding officers of the army, Department Director Kim Kyong Hui, First Vice Department Directors Kim Kyong Ok, Ri Je Gang and Ri Jae Il and other leading officials of the WPK Central Committee.

Ri Je Gang (3rd R) posed in this commemorative photograph with KJI and other core leadership at the monumental tower to the Battle of Pochonbo in May 2010 (Photo: KCNA)

KWP Organization Department (Organization Secretariat) building in Central Pyongyang is 1st L