U Tong Chuk Standing in the Shadows?

Gen. U Tong Chuk (first row, R) attends a national report meeting on Kim Jong Il's birthday in Feburary 2012 (Photo: KCNA)

South Korean media, citing an anonymous source, reports that the Ministry of State Security’s [MSS] Gen. U Tong Chuk (U To’ng-ch’uk) may have been removed from office.  Gen. U was neither reported nor observed to have attended any of the public events or celebrations of the centenary of Kim Il Sung’s birth last week.  Based on reported personnel lists from the 5th session of the 12th Supreme People’s Assembly [SPA], Gen. U was removed as a member of the National Defense Commission [NDC].  It is not clear if Gen. U was among the Korean Workers’ Party [KWP] Political Bureau members and alternates who were “recalled” during the 4th Party Conference on 11 April.  U Tong Chuk’s last reported public activities occurred during late March when he attended or participated in several events ending the 100-day mourning period for Kim Jong Il.

Yonhap reports:

U Tong-chuk, first deputy head of the State Security Ministry, has been absent from state media coverage since late last month when he accompanied Kim to a mausoleum in Pyongyang to pay respects to Kim’s late father, long-time leader Kim Jong-il who died in December.

U was one of the seven top officials who walked with Kim Jong-un beside the hearse carrying the body of Kim Jong-il during the funeral procession in Pyongyang on Dec. 28.

The senior intelligence official and the seven others were believed to be confidants and advisers as Kim Jong-un took the reins of the country after his father’s demise.

The young leader seems to have purged U as he assumes his father’s key posts in the ruling Workers’ Party, military and the government in a series of political events aimed at consolidating his power.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported last week that Kim Won-hong was appointed as State Security Minister in April, taking up U’s position.

It is not clear whether U has been dismissed from his post or executed.

A South Korean official, who closely monitors North Korean affairs, said the reported purge has yet to be confirmed. He asked not to be identified, citing policy.

The North has a track record of purging or executing senior officials.

Last year, North Korea apparently removed Ryu Kyong, another senior intelligence official, according to South Korean officials and local media.

Historically, the only way out as the leading official of State Security has been death–execution, suicide or even natural causes (such as the last known minister Ri Chun Su from a heart attack in 1987).  There have been no reports, or even rumors, that Gen. U has been executed.

U Tong Chuk is closely tied to Kim Jong Un’s succession.  Given his background, he was most likely placed as a transitional figure within the central leadership.  He opened foreign intelligence and diplomatic channels, oversaw systemic reorganization of DPRK security agencies and assets and performed the aggressive acts necessary to consolidate the positions of KJU and other senior officials such as VMar Kim Jong Gak and VMar Choe Ryong Hae.

Gen. Kim Won Hong (R) attends aan aviation display and inspection with Kim Jong Un in 2012 (Photo: KCNA)

According to several sources, Gen. U was promoted to Minister of State Security during the autumn of 2011.  However, in publishing biographical profiles on members of the Political Bureau on 12 April 2012, DPRK state media identified Gen. Kim Won Hong as having been appointed minister in April 2012.  DPRK media never identified Gen. U as minister, suggesting that even if he was promoted it was on interim basis.  Both Gen. Kim and Gen. U appeared on the same Korean People’s Army [KPA] promotions list in April 2009 when U was promoted to 3-star Colonel General (sangjang) and Kim promoted to 4-star General (tangjang).  Also, during 2009, Chosun Ilbo reported that Kim Won Hong was replaced as head of the Military Security Command [MSC] by Col. Gen. Jo Kyong Chol (Cho Kyo’ng-ch’o'l).

Gen. U (annotated) talks with KWP Secretary Kim Ki Nam during Kim Jong Il's May 2009 visit to the training center for the command element of KPA Unit #10215 (Photo: KCNA)

Gen. U attends a concert by the U'nhasu Orchestra in October 2011 (Photo: KCNA)

During 2009 and 2010, U Tong Chuk became State Security’s public face and acted as its chief functionary, while Kim Won Hong appeared to continue to discharge the functions of MSC chief.    U’s status was gradually enhanced as he was promoted to General in April 2010 and elected as an alternate to the Political Bureau and CMC in September 2010.  In 2010 and 2011 Gen. U supervised investigative activities which resulted in a number of officials and cadres being dismissed from office, incarcerated or executed.  In 2011 Gen. U led a major personnel housecleaning at State Security, which resulted in the removal of dozens of domestic managers and operatives.  U also supervised the relocation of several intelligence branch offices outside the DPRK.    As Kim Jong Il’s health eroded during 2011, Gen. U was well-positioned to tie up any loose ends before and after KJI passed away.  Gen. U was identified as one of the “death angels” involved in the dismissals and executions of officials in the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces and KPA General Staff.

As reports of these purges began to appear in March 2012, Gen. U withdrew to the shadows.  The question Pyongyang watchers might ask is whether Gen. U inadvertently had the wrong cadre clipped or if it was always intended for him to make his public position untenable.

Rocket on Launch Pad

Officials of the Korea Committee for Space Technology [KCST] have placed the U’nha-3 carrier rocket on its launch pad at the Sohae Launch Facility in Tongch’ang-ri, Ch’o'lsan County, North P’yo’ngan Province.  U’nha-3 was unveiled to visiting foreign media, along with what was said to be the Kwangmyo’ngso’ng-3 satellite [KMS-3].  Xinhua reports:

The rocket for Pyongyang’s planned satellite launch later this month has been installed on the launch pad, Xinhua correspondents saw at the launch site Sunday.

A official said at the scene that the Unha-3 rocket, which is slated to blast off during the April 12-16 window and send an “earth observation” satellite into space, is yet to be fuelled.

Xinhua was among the foreign media invited to visit the launching station, control and command center and some other places.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced last month its plan to launch the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite to mark the 100th birthday of late leader Kim Il Sung, which has triggered global concerns.

Daily Yomiuri reports:

The injection of liquid fuel will start after the second- and third-stage units are assembled, the sources said.

Despite strong opposition by Japan, the United States, South Korea and other countries to the plan, the latest development shows North Korea has entered the final stage of preparations for the launch.

The setting up of the first-stage booster was confirmed by analysis of data from a U.S. reconnaissance satellite.

According to the sources, the first-stage booster was assembled vertically on the launchpad, which is about 50 meters high, at the new missile base in Tongchang-ri completed last year.

U.S. and South Korean authorities believe the second- and third-stage units will be set up by early this week, followed by the injection of liquid fuel from an underground facility.

The liquid fuel used by North Korea is said to be highly corrosive, making it difficult to store in a fuel tank for a long time after its injection, according to military experts. For this reason, the fuel will be injected a few days before the launch.

“No delays have been seen thus far, from the transportation of the missile body to the base to its assembly. We believe the launch will be carried out as announced,” a source said.

North Korea announced it will launch the rocket in the period from April 12 to 16.

Starting Wednesday, North Korea is scheduled to hold a series of political events, including a representatives’ meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea. During this meeting, the North’s new leader, Kim Jong Un, is expected to assume the hermetic country’s highest posts, such as the general secretary of the party.

Another diplomatic source said North Korea will “fire the missile by April 15, [to celebrate the] 100th [anniversary of the] birthday of late President Kim Il Sung…and the completion of the power succession.”

Meanwhile, the launch of the U’nha-3 and Kwangmyo’ngso’ng-3 satellite may not be the only test carried out by the Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) Central Committee’s Machine-Building Industry Department and its subordinate organizations, the Second Economy Commission and Second Natural Sciences Academy.  South Korean officials say that ongoing excavation and construction activities near P’unggye-ri, Kilchu County, North Hamgyo’ng Province suggest the DPRK may conduct a third underground nuclear detonation, likely HEU.  Yonhap reports:

Satellite images show the communist nation digging a new tunnel underground in the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in the country’s northeast, where it conducted two previous nuclear tests, first in 2006 and then in 2009.

The construction is believed to be in its final stage, the official said.

“North Korea is making clandestine preparations for a third nuclear test at Punggye-ri in North Hamkyong Province, where it conducted two nuclear tests in the past,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Commercial satellite imagery showed piles of earth and sand at the entrance of a tunnel in the Punggye-ri site. The soil is believed to have been brought to the site to plug the tunnel, one of final steps before carrying out a nuclear test blast.

A nuclear test following a long-range missile test fits the pattern of North Korean behavior.

In 2006, the provocative regime carried out its first-ever nuclear test, three months after the test-firing of its long-range Taepodong-2 rocket. The second nuclear test in 2009 came just one month after a long-range rocket launch.

The North says it will fire off its Unha-3 long-range rocket between April 12-16 to put what it claims is a satellite into orbit. But regional powers believe the launch is a pretext to disguise a ballistic missile test banned under a U.N. Security Council resolution.

Sources said the North is believed to have put the rocket on a launch pad in the country’s northwest on Friday.

The North’s nuclear and missile programs have long been a regional security concern. The country is believed to have advanced ballistic missile technology, though it is still not clear whether it has mastered the technology to put a nuclear warhead on a missile.

Personnel Changes

Rumors of the DPRK’s first post-KJI purge of senior military officials have surfaced in the South Korean press.  KBS and Chosun Ilbo reported that a deputy chief of the Korean People’s Army [KPA] General Staff was executed earlier this year for “sexual harassment.”  At about the same time a deputy (vice) minister of the People’s Armed Forces was dismissed and subsequently executed for drinking too much alcohol.  In the latter case, the deputy PAF minister was allegedly rendered into a grease spot on the wall after being hit with an 82 mm mortar round fired at close range.  VMar Kim Jong Gak (Kim Cho’ng-kak), deputy (vice) director of the KPA General Political Department, was identified as having managed the executions and dismissals.

KPA VMar Kim Jong Gak (1st row, L)

These executions were the result of an order from the central leadership to ferret out military and party officials for insufficiently demonstrating grief around Kim Jong Il’s funeral and during the mourning period.  As KJI funeral events unfolded in late December 2011, several party cadres of the Personal Secretariat also seemed to fall by the wayside.  KBS World reports:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is known to have executed or fired some military officers and government officials for committing immoral acts during the mourning period of his father Kim Jong-il.

Sources familiar with North Korean affairs say a vice chief of North Korea’s General Staff was shot to death for his involvement in a sex scandal during the morning period. He was one of six or seven vice chairmen under North Korea’s Army Chief of the General Staff, Ri Yong-ho.

A vice minister of People’s Armed Forces was apparently shot to death as well for drinking alcohol with a female official.

The source said that the dean of Kim Hyung-jik College of Education was dismissed for arriving late at the funeral for Kim Jong-il. A secretary at the Ministry of Land and Marine Transport was also fired for failing to appropriately make arrangement for condolence flowers.

The source also said that in January Kim Jong-un ordered the dismissal of anyone who failed to observe the mourning period.

Chosun Ilbo reported that several unit commanders were also executed, in addition to the two officials from the high command:

“When Kim Jong-un became North Korean leader following the mourning period for his father in late December, high-ranking military officers started disappearing,” the source said. “From information compiled over the last month, we have concluded that dozens of military officers were purged.” The source added Kim Jong-un ordered loyal officials to “get rid of” anyone caught misbehaving during the mourning period for Kim Jong-il.

But contrary to reports that an assistant chief of the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces was put in front of a firing squad for being drunk during the mourning period, he was executed using a mortar round in line with Kim’s orders to leave “no trace of him behind, down to his hair.”

The source said the official was placed on the spot where the round would hit, and the grisly execution obliterated him.

Besides the assistant chief and an assistant chief of the General Staff Department, frontline commanders were also executed, the source said.

Kim Jong-il also purged dissenters after the death of his father Kim Il-sung in 1994. Even those caught for minor infractions were executed by a firing squad.

But Kim Jong-un’s methods appear even more brutal. A source familiar with North Korea said, “It appears that the loyalty pledged by the military did not satisfy the young leader, who is sensitive about his age.” Kim junior is 28 or 29.

The source said the drastic measures may have been proposed by Kim’s confidant Kim Jong-gak (62), the first deputy director of the General Political Bureau of the North Korean People’s Army.

Outgoing Kim Il Sung Youth League 1st Secretary Ri Yong Chol (highlighted) applauds during the national report meeting held on Kim Jong Il's birthday on 15 February 2012 (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

Meanwhile, Ri Yong Chol (Ri Yo’ng-ch’o'l) has been replaced as the head of the Kim Il Sung Youth League [KISYL].  Ri was replaced by Jon Yong Nam during the KISYL annual meeting which was held on Thursday (22 March).  During the fall of 2011, Ri led a KISYL delegation on an overseas excursion to the UK and Greece and in November 2011 Ri led a large KISYL delegation on a brief visit to China where they met with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping.  KCNA reports:

The 47th plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League was held in Pyongyang on Thursday.

At the meeting former First Secretary Ri Yong Chol was relieved of his post for his age reason and Jon Yong Nam was elected to the post.

KJI Statue Unveiled as Birthday Events Begin

A bronze statue depicting Kim Jong Il (R) on horseback was unveiled during a ceremony at Mansudae Art Studio on 14 February 2012. According to NK Economy Watch, the Kim Il Sung (L) statue is preexisting (Photo: KCNA)

Members of the central leadership attend the unveiling ceremony. In this image (L-R) are: Gen. Kim Jong Gak; Jang Song Taek; Gen. O Kuk Ryol; VMar Ri Yong Mu; VMar Kim Yong Chun; VMar Ri Yong Ho; Kim Yong Nam; Choe Yong Rim; Choe Tae Bok; Yang Hyong Sop; Kang Sok Ju; Kim Yang Gon; Kim Yong Il; Ju Kyu Chang; Choe Ryong Hae; Ju Kyu Chang; Kim Rak Hui (Photo: KCNA)

In a key event marking the birthday of the recently deceased DPRK supreme leader Kim Jong Il, a bronze statue was unveiled on Tuesday (14 February) at Mansudae Art Studio in Pyongyang.

An honor guard representing the three service branches of the Korean People's Army delivers a floral basket to the unveiled statue of Kim Jong Il on 14 February 2012 (Photo: KCNA)

SPA Presidium President Kim Yong Nam delivers the keynote address at a ceremony unveiling a bronze statue of Kim Jong Il at Mansudae Art Studio on 14 February 2012 (Photo: KCNA)

A variety of events commemorating what is officially Kim Jong Il’s 70th birthday have been held throughout the DPRK.  More events will occur on or around 16 February (Thursday).  According to the official chronicles of the Korean Workers’ Party History Institute, KJI was born on 16 February 1942 in a log cabin near Mt. Paektu on the DPRK-China border while other accounts said that KJI was born in February 1941 at a Russian military base  Khabarovsk where his parents were stationed as members of the 88th Brigade under the Soviet Far East Command.  Since KJI’s death in 2011, the country has commemorated his birthday as the “Day of the Shining Star.”

In 2011 KJI joined central party, security and government leaders at a banquet.  In 2010 KJI attended to the reopening of the 8 February Vinalon Complex in South Hamgyo’ng, signed (or assented to) execution orders and personally informed the then-Cabinet Premier of his eventual dismissal.  A documentary film on KJI’s activities in that month later revealed that during February 2010 he also attended a synchronized swimming exhibition at Ch’angkwang Health Complex in central Pyongyang.  In February 2009, KJI was preoccupied with changing his military leadership and during that month Gen. O Kuk Ryol was appointed Vice Chairman of the National Defense Commission [NDC], Kim Yong Chun was appointed Minister of the People’s Armed Forces and Ri Yong Ho was appointed chief of the General Staff.  Also, according to several sources and accounts, on the sidelines of private family festivities Jang Song Taek asked KJI’s three sons for their views on succession.  

Daily NK, citing the rumor mill of the country’s forex workers, considers the possibility that a complete list of KJI’s “behests” from 8 October 2011 will be publicized.  The only reported KJI behest and bequest the DPRK has released was the appointment of Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) as Korean People’s Army [KPA] Supreme Commander, which occurred during a KWP Political Bureau meeting on 30 December.  DNK analyzes that a public reading of the late center’s behests may solidify the political power of Jang Song Taek and Kim Kyong Hui:

One such person, whom Daily NK met in Shenyang, explained, “They say that the General’s ‘last instructions’ will be publicly released on Gwangmyungsung Day,” adding, “I am sure it will say that ‘the people must be one with comrade Kim Jong Eun and open the doors to the strong and prosperous nation’.”

“The first priority for the ‘last instructions’ will be to gather around comrade Kim Jong Eun with one heart; second, to build a strong and prosperous nation, and last the reunification of the fatherland,” the source went on. “As in the past when the Suryeong passed away, the ‘leadership of the last instructions’ will carry on for some time.”

However, it is the role of Jang Sung Taek that is attracting more attention than whether or not the last instructions are made public, the source claimed.

“If the General’s ‘last instructions’ are revealed this time, Vice Chairman Jan Sung Taek’s position will become much stronger,” he said. “I am sure the main point of the contents of the General’s ‘last instructions’ is, ultimately, to support comrade Kim Jong Eun enthusiastically, but who in the Republic will do that expect Jang?”

The main foreign currency earning lines in China and Malaysia are all stocked with Jang Sung Taek’s people, sources claim. While North Korea has been solidifying Kim Jong Eun’s power domestically, among front line foreign currency earners it is said that the competition is actually over loyalty to Jang.

Such people are very powerful, the source claimed, explaining, “We have to go back to North Korea every six months to a year for ideological education if we leave the country for two years, but those under Jang Sung Taek have the authority to extend the period without return to two or three years.”

“There is even a growing trend among workers (under Jang Sung Taek) to bring their children with them when they go abroad”. It has been long practice for the North Korean regime to keep the children of diplomats and workers in North Korea, to ensure ongoing loyalty.

Coincidentally, it is not only Jang himself who wields great power in North Korea. His late older brother Jang Sung Woo’s second son Jang Yong Chul is the current North Korean Ambassador to Malaysia, a position he has held since 2010, and his first son is working for the Committee for the Promotion of Economic Cooperation. His son-in-law Jeon Young Jin was appointed North Korean Ambassador to Cuba on the 4th of last month.

Opening ceremony of the Paektusan Sports Cup held at the basketball gym on Friday (Photo: KCNA)

The festivities for KJI’s birthday got underway late last week as the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea visited revolutionary historical sites which culminated in a loyalty oath ceremony near KJI’s official birthplace near Mt. Paektu.  KCNA reports:

They laid floral baskets and flowers before the statues of President Kim Il Sung at the Pochonbo Revolutionary Battle Site and on the shore of Lake Samji and the mosaic depicting the three commanders of Mt. Paektu in the Paektusan secret camp and paid high tribute to them.

They went round the then command post of the Pochonbo battle, the police post of the Japanese imperialists, the sub-county office, the Samjiyon grand monument, etc.

They held an oath-taking meeting in front of Kim Jong Il’s old home in the Paektusan secret camp.

They toured the Samjiyon county-seat, which has undergone dramatic change, and conducted various political and cultural activities during the period.

A display of postage stamps depicting KJI and Kim Il Sung over the years, part of an exhibition which opened at the Korea Stamp Exhibition on Friday, 10 February 2012 (Photo: KCNA)

On 9 February (Thursday), Party Secretary of Propaganda (Publicity) and Agitation Kim Ki Nam presided over two exhibition openings.  At Korea Stamp Exhibition, Kim launched a show of past and current commemorative stamps about KJI:

The Korean stamp show for commemorating the 70th birth anniversary of leader Kim Jong Il was opened with due ceremony at the Korean Stamp Exhibition today.

Seen at the exhibition are a stamp of the image of Kim Jong Il published for the first time in 1987 and stamps of the undying revolutionary exploits he performed in leading the Party, army and people along the road of sure victory.

There are also various stamps presented by Korean philatelists.

Present at the ceremony were Kim Ki Nam, secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea C.C., Sim Chol Ho, minister of Post and Telecommunications, officials concerned, creators, philatelists and working people.

Present on invitation were officials of foreign embassies here in charge of cultural and friendly relations.

At the end of the ceremony the participants went round the displayed stamps.

Photographs of Kim Jong Il at an exhibition at the People's Palace of Culture (Photo: KCNA)

At the People’s Palace of Culture, Kim launched the opening of an exhibition of photographs of KJI:

A national photo exhibition opened in the DPRK to commemorate the 70th birth anniversary of leader Kim Jong Il.

On display in its venue are at least 300 photos of the revolutionary career of Kim Jong Il.

Among them are pictures titled “The great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il declaring the programme of modeling the whole society on the juche idea”, “The great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il and the dear respected Kim Jong Un guiding the fire striking exercises of large combined unit of the Korean People’s Army” and “Kwangmyongsong-2 soaring up to fully display the national power of Songun Korea”.

“The dear respected Kim Jong Un participating in the farewell-bidding ceremony together with senior officials of party, state and armed forces organs,” “Kim Il Sung Square full of lamentations calling for the great General” and other pictures showing the days the greatest sorrow when people were in tears of blood at an unexpected loss of the father of the nation.

Members of the Democratic Women's Union of Korea attend a ceremony on 10 February 2012 at Oun Revolutionary Site on the outskirts of Pyongyang (Photo: KCNA)

On Friday (10 February) the Democratic Women’s Union of Korea held a loyalty oath event at the Oun Revolutionary Site in suburban Pyongyang.  Back in the city, KWP Secretary Choe Ryo’ng-hae presided over a loyalty oath event held by the Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea:

A meeting of agricultural workers took place in the plaza of the Party Founding Memorial Tower on Friday to pledge to accomplish the revolutionary cause of juche under the leadership of the dear respected Kim Jong Un true to the behests of leader Kim Jong Il.

At the meeting a reporter and speakers said Kim Jong Il performed exploits before the country, the people, the era and history by developing and enriching the revolutionary idea of President Kim Il Sung and leading the Korean revolution along the path of victory.

The revolutionary exploits of Kim Jong Il would shine forever as he created the new history of perpetuating the memory of the President and turned the socialist country into a political, ideological and military power with his original songun politics, they stressed.

They vowed to keep on the drive for the great and fresh victory of the Juche revolution. A poem of pledge was read out there.

Also the same day, a declamation contest was held as the People’s Palace of Culture, attended by Choe Tae Bok and Kim Ki Nam:

In an oratory titled “The great motto” Choe Myong Ju, department director of the Ministry of Food Procurement and Administration, impressively told the story that Kim Jong Il autographed a paper on supplying the people with fish on December 16 last year.

Pak Yong Sun, section chief of the Hoeyang County Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea in Kangwon Province, said in an excited tone that Kim Jong Il glorified his great life as a life that braved snowstorm.

In an oratory titled “Sun” Han Chong Su, vice-minister of Light Industry, praised Kim Jong Il as the great sun of mankind who recorded legends about loving care for the people with rare leadership ability and noble virtue.

Speakers included Jong Myong Ok, manageress of Pyongyang Department Store No. 1, Kim Ju Song, department director of Railways, and Choe Myong Ok, deputy secretary of the Primary Committee of the WPK of Changwang Health Complex. In their oratories made under the respective titled “Promise”, “The General and his journeys to mix with people,” “Road to the front and Changgwang Health Complex” they impressively said there were too many stories to tell about Kim Jong Il’s total dedication to the people.

On Saturday (11 February) SPA Presidium President Kim Yong Nam and DPRK Cabinet Premier Choe Yong Rim attended a screening of the latest Kim Family documentary film With Desire of the Leader:

The film deals with the facts that leader Kim Jong Il made an endless journey of patriotic devoted service to realize the desire of President Kim Il Sung for building a thriving nation.

It tells about the undying leadership feats of the peerlessly great man, who put the dignity and strength of songun Korea on the highest level with his iron will and superhuman energies while instilling into the mind of the army and people the firm faith that the President is always with us.

Through the film its viewers hardened their belief that Kim Jong Il is the peerlessly illustrious songun commander and patriot and benevolent father who had spent all his life on the train of field guidance for the people’s happiness, enduring his fatigue.

The annual exhibition of Kimjongilia flowers (Photo: KCNA)

On 12 February (Sunday), members of the central leadership converged on KJI’s birthplace for a large loyalty oath rally.  This has typically been a major event during KJI birthday week.  The Mt. Paketu-based event that was held in 2010 was a kind of debut for VMar Ri Yong Ho and, to a lesser extent, Gen. Kim Jong Gak, presiding over a significant national event.  KCNA reports:

A meeting to vow loyalty took place in the secret camp in Mt. Paektu, a holy land of revolution, on Sunday  on the occasion of the birth anniversary of leader Kim Jong Il, the Day of the Shining Star, the greatest holiday of the nation.

Attending the meeting were Ri Yong Ho, Kim Ki Nam, Choe Thae Bok, Kim Jong Gak, Pak To Chun, Choe Ryong Hae and officials of Party and armed forces organs and working people’s organizations, ministries and national institutions, service personnel of the Korean People’s Army and the Korean People’s Internal Security Forces and people from all walks of life.

The participants observed a moment’s silence in memory of Kim Jong Il.

Speeches were made there.

Vice Marshal Ri Yong Ho, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the C.C., the Workers’ Party of Korea and chief of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army, said that the birth of Kim Jong Il was the great jubilee and fortune of the nation which greeted the peerlessly songun sun and a worldwide event which promised the bright future of progressive mankind aspiring after independence.

Kim Jong Il made tireless efforts for increasing the military capability with the steadfast faith that the army guarantees the prosperity of the country and happiness of its people, he noted.

Kim Ki Nam, member of the Political Bureau and secretary of the C.C., the Workers’ Party of Korea, said that thanks to the wise guidance of Kim Jong Il, the WPK has developed into an invincible party and genuine mother party and guiding force of the songun politics and it is shedding its rays as a dignified and sovereign party of President Kim Il Sung.

He stressed the need to cherish the invariable faith that Kim Jong Il will always be with us and uphold him in high esteem for all ages and fully and unconditionally implement his last instructions.

Ri Yong Chol, first secretary of the C.C., the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League, said the youth marking the significant Day of the Shining Star in the sacred land of the revolution where the great sun of songun was born miss Kim Jong Il very much.

He stressed the need for all members of the young vanguard to firmly unite around the dear respected Kim Jong Un and accomplish the cause of the Juche revolution started in Mt. Paektu, true to the last instructions of Kim Jong Il.

Fireworks were displayed in the sky above the secret camp to present fantastic scenery in the deep forest at night. The participants broke into loud shouts of “hurrah!” watching them.

 

Kim Jong Un Visits KPA Large Combined Unit

KPA Supreme Commander and acting chairman of the Party Central Military Commission Kim Jong Un (front, 3rd L) watches a performance during his inspection of KPA Large Combined Unit #324. Also in attendance are: Ri Yong Ho (seated, L); Kim Yong Chun (seated, 2nd L); Pak Jae Gyong (standing, 3rd R); Ro Hung Se (standing, 2nd L); and Ri Tu Song (standing, R) (Photo: KCNA)

Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) was reported on 7 February to have visited Korean People’s Army [KPA] Large Combined Unit (taeyonhap pudae) #324.  His last reported public appearance was an inspection of KPA Navy Combined Unit (yonhap pudae) #597.  He was reported to have been accompanied by: VMar Ri Yong Ho, chief of the KPA General Staff; VMar Kim Yong Chun, Vice Chairman of the National Defense Commission [NDC] and Minister of the People’s Armed Forces; Gen. Kim Myo’ng-kuk, Member of the Party Central Military Commission [CMC] and chief of the KPA General Staff Operations Bureau; Gen. Pak Jae Gyong, director of the KPA General Propaganda Department and Vice Minister of the People’s Armed Forces; and from the KPA Supreme Command apparatus, Lt. Gen. Ri Tu Song (GPD) and Lt. Gen. Ro Hung Se (portfolio not clear).  In December 2011, one of the last performances Kim Jong Il watched was an art performance given by the KPA Large Combined Unit #324′s propaganda squad.

KCNA reports:

The first leg of his inspection was the command of Large Combined Unit 324 of the KPA. He had a photo taken with its service personnel.

Then he went round the room for education in the revolutionary history and the room devoted to its history.

Recollecting with deep emotion the undying feats performed by President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il which are recorded in the history of the unit, he said the unit grew to be a matchless elite unit under the wise leadership and meticulous care of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

Making the rounds of an operation study room, shooting gallery and other places, he acquainted himself with the training of the commanding officers.

He expressed great satisfaction over the fact that the unit successfully built rooms for the study of military affairs so that its service personnel might deeply study and fully apply the Juche- based war methods of the WPK and is organizing effective trainings for boosting the ability to command operations.

He gave valuable instructions for preparing all the commanding officers to be competent ones capable of skillfully organizing and commanding any difficult combat duty in a modern war.

He inspected a forward command post of the unit. There he heard from the commander of the unit a report on the situation.

Standing before an operational map, he looked over the defence theatre and learned in detail about the topographical features and the distribution of forces.

Enjoying a bird’s-eye view of a city, villages, a lot of factories and fertile co-op fields, he said the prosperity of the country and the happiness of the people are firmly guaranteed as the service personnel of the People’s Army are standing guard with arms over the socialist country which cannot be bartered for anything.

He set forth important tasks to be fulfilled to mercilessly wipe out the enemies in the forward areas along the defence line in view of their ceaseless moves to ignite a new war and thus safeguard the socialist country as firm as an iron wall.

He inspected Unit 156 of the KPA honored with the title of O Jung Hup-led Seventh Regiment. He had a photo session with its service personnel.

After hearing a report on the decision from the commander of the unit, he acquainted himself with its training.

The unit has a very important duty to perform, he said, putting forth important tasks to serve as guidelines for bolstering its combat capability.

Noting that the primary duty of a soldier is to undergo training well, he underscored the need for the unit to focus all efforts on intensifying training and prepare the service personnel of the unit as all-round fighters capable of performing themselves any combat duties satisfactorily, in particular.

He made the rounds of a library and other facilities for ideological and cultural education to learn in detail about how political work is conducted among its service personnel.

He went round a bedroom, education room and lecture rooms for training of a company under the unit’s direct control to take care of the living of its service personnel.

The appearance was another opportunity for Jong Un to recreate an iconic Mangyo’ngdae family picture:

Kim Jong Un points at a map during his inspection of KPA Large Combined Unit #324, reported in February 2012. Standing to the right is Kim Yong Chun (Photo: KCNA, Yonhap)

Kim Jong Il points at a map during an inspection of a KPA unit in September 1997, the month prior to his appointment as KWP General-Secretary and CMC Chairman. Standing to KJI's right in this image Kim Yong Chun (Photo: KCNA)

Kim Jong Il presents watches to members of the Guard Command in July 2011. Seen in in attendance behind KJI are Kim Jong Un (L), Kim Ki Nam (2nd L), Ri Yong Ho (3rd L), Kim Jong Gak (rear, 3rd R) and employees of the Gifts Section of the Personal Secretariat (2nd R)

Kim Jong Un (L) filmed during an inspection of the KPA Navy Command headquarters in July 2011. In this image are SPA Presidium Vice President Yang Hyong Sop (2nd R, 2nd L); Kim Myo'ng-kuk (2nd R) and Ri Yong Ho (R)

Meanwhile, on the theme of emulation of (not-so) hidden heroes, DPRK media has released another focused on Kim family leadership.  The latest release highlights Kim Jong Il’s inspections of KPA units and his attendance of art performances by KPA personnel or their families during 2011.  KJI, along with Kim Jong Un and other members of the central leadership are shown visiting a series of history exhibitions, barracks, mess halls, as well as handing out gold Swiss watches to members of the Guard Command.

Kim Jong Il tours a plant affiliated with KPA Navy Combined Unit #597 in March 2011, accompanied by Admiral (Gen.) Jong Myong Do (R)

Kim Jong Il (5th L) stands for a commemorative photograph during his tour of a KPA Navy factory in March 2011. Seen in this image are: Col. Gen. O Chol San (L), political director of the KPA Navy; Jang Song Taek (2nd L); Gen. Jong Myong Do, commander of the KPA Navy (3rd L); Kim Jong Un (3rd R); Gen. Ri Myo'ng-su (R); and Gen. Hyon Chol Hae (R)

The films shows footage of KJI’s visit to a factory affiliated with KPA Navy Combined Unit #597 in March 2011.  No photographs of that visit were released; instead DPRK media showed an image of a visit made to the factory by Kim Il Sung.  The films also includes footage of KJI’s guidance to live fire exercises of KPA Unit #966, a subordinate unit of the Pyongyang Defense Command [PDC].  KJI’s guidance of the unit’s exercises was his final reported inspection of a KPA unit and occurred one week before he died.

It may not be legal to access the video below in some countries.

Kim Jong Il directs live fire exercises of KPA Unit #966, of the Pyongyang Defense Command. This was his final reported inspection or appearance at a KPA unit, reported 13 December 2011. Also seen in attendance are Kim Jong Un (C) and Gen. Kim Kyong Ok (R), senior deputy (1st vice) director of the party's Organization Guidance Department

A grab of of the film's closing image shows Kim Jong Il greeting spectators at the Worker-Peasants' Red Guard Parade on foundation day in 2011. Seen at the left is Jang Song Taek.

Kim Jong Un Ordered Suspension of Military Training After KJI Death

In one of his first acts as central leader of the DPRK, Kim Jong Un ordered the suspension of the Korean People’s Army’s [KPA] annual winter training cycle prior to DPRK media publicizing the death of Kim Jong Il.  After the July 1994 death of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il issued a similar order and many KPA officers and service members remained in barracks.  Yonhap reports:

The North’s state media reported Kim Jong-il’s death Monday, two days after it occurred. The Seoul source said before the passing was announced, Kim Jong-un ordered all military units to halt field exercises and training and return to their bases.

“This is a direct example showing Kim Jong-un’s complete control over the military,” the source said, adding the move also indicated that the younger Kim is poised to become the top commander of the North’s military.

Kim Jong-un became vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party and a four-star general last year, indicating Kim Jong-il’s intentions to make his youngest known son the country’s next leader.

South Korean intelligence officials had previously believed Kim Jong-un had not yet assumed full control over the armed forces in the aftermath of his father’s sudden death.

Officials were only able to confirm that Jong-un’s order two days after he’d issued it. Won Sei-hoon, head of Seoul’s National Intelligence Service, and Kim Kwan-jin, the South’s defense minister, came under fire Tuesday after admitting the service learned of Kim Jong-il’s death from television news coverage.

South Korean officials said they have not observed any unusual activity from north of the border, but that the North has reinforced its security forces at the Joint Security Area near the border.

Where Are You Tonight?

The DPRK-PRC border (yellow line) from Pyo'ktong County (Photo: Google image)

The county center of Pyo'ktong County, North P'yo'ngan Province (40 35' 23" N 125 19' 43"E) (Photo: Google image)

As 2011 draws to a close, several media reports have come out about DPRK citizens who are unaccounted for or difficult to locate.  On or around 20 November, eight (8) members of the Border Security Command’s 10th Brigade fled the DPRK for China.  During a routine shift change, two guard teams fled from Pyo’ktong County, North P’yo’ngan Province into the Kuandian Manchu Autonomous County, Liaoning Province.  Two of the guards were shot by other BSC guards during the escape.  Daily NK reports:

According to the source, the group of armed soldiers made their escape at around midnight. They were reportedly from the Byeokdong County in North Pyongan Province, which faces Kuandian County along the banks of the Yalu River.
It is still unclear whether the escapees clashed with Chinese soldiers during their escape. However, the rumor is that they paid off local soldiers to turn a blind eye, although there is also talk of some modest clashes.

The North Korean soldiers are believed to have belonged to a border guard brigade responsible for things like preventing defections and smuggling. The source says that the soldiers conspired to escape together in two teams during a guard change.

Usually during a night shift, one two-man team stands fifty meters apart on guard while another team of three or four patrols the area. There are no changeovers for those standing guard, but the patrol team switches once every two hours, meaning that the group defection probably took place while the patrol team was changing over.

According to the source, armed People’s Liberation Army personnel were dispatched to key locations around Kuandian County as soon as Chinese officials became aware of the incident, fearing the possibility of a shootout with the North Korean soldiers trying to escape. In particular, dozens of soldiers were placed at railway stations and other transit points to try and stop the escapees from trying to avoid detection and make their way further inland.

Armed Chinese soldiers could also be seen patrolling Dandong railway station and other areas as late as December 11th. This served to further increase tension in the area because of the ensuing ID checks, leading to incidences of people being unable to verify their identities being taken in. Chinese commuters were further inconvenienced by ticket inspections at two or three times their usual level.

For their part, the North Korean authorities are understood to have sent several dozen NSA agents directly to Dandong to work on apprehending the fugitives. Numbers of NSA agents have been particularly high in areas of large numbers of Koreans since the event. The authorities are trying to find the escapees on foot, searching Sanma Road (the ‘Korea-Town of Dandong’) as well as the Xinliu shopping district and development areas.

Immediately after the incident the jamming of electronic signals between China and Sinuiju appeared also to have been stepped up, with areas usually receiving adequate telephone reception constantly dropping out.

Ri Chun Hui finishes her report on Kim Jong Il's written interview with ITAR-TASS during the 19 October 2011 KCTV news broadcast (Photo: KCNA) news broadcast

Meanwhile, Japan’s Radiopress noticed that Ri Chun Hui (Ri Chun-hu’i) has not appeared on Korea Central TV’s news broadcasts in nearly two months.  Ri was last seen reading DPRK media’s account of Kim Jong Il’s interview with ITAR-TASS on 19 October.  Perhaps, she has remained behind the camera in the intervening weeks to allow more youthful broadcasters the chance to “gloriously inherit and develop the revolutionary tradition.”  Korea Real Time reports:

She speaks in an inimitable style that mixes a kind of breathy quality with whatever the news calls for – exuberance when talking about the dictator’s greatness and stentorian power when talking those awful governments in the U.S. or South Korea.

To an outsider, it’s a style that’s hard to take seriously, but it has earned Ms. Ri fans among the North Korean followers.

In recent days, news organizations in Japan that regularly monitor the North’s TV broadcasts say that Ms. Ri hasn’t been on the air since Oct. 19, when she read a statement her big boss Mr. Kim gave to Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency.

That’s a long stretch away from the nightly news in Pyongyang. And Mr. Kim has been busy during that time with his normal activities of attending concerts, visiting factories and giving the wave at military drills.

And in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovenia, Toru Tamakawa of Asahi Shimbun visits the local branch of the United World College.  Outside the students’ residence hall, Tamakawa may have encountered Kim Han Sol, the son of Kim Jong Nam and grandson of Kim Jong Il.  Asahi Japan Watch reports:

But when it comes to Kim Han Sol, everyone said, “We have been told not to say anything (about him).”

Then I felt I was being watched.

A short man with Asian features was watching me from behind a bus stop 20 meters away.

The man, with a crew cut and wearing a dark-brown jacket, was talking on a cellphone while watching me.

He was strange, so I decided to take a break somewhere and lose the man.

I stopped into a cafe and had coffee. After 15 minutes, the man had gone.

Whew.

I started walking again toward the dormitory.

Then somebody called to me from behind, “Are you a journalist?”

I turned and saw the man I had seen a while ago.

He fired more questions before I had answered his initial question.

“I am a journalist coming from South Korea. Are you coming from Japan? Which press? TV?”

He was smiling, but his eyes were not.

He was not carrying a camera, a notebook or a bag.

It was my turn to ask the questions.

“Which news agency do you belong to? Newspaper? Television?”

Without answering, the man suddenly ran toward the student dormitory.

Thereafter, I saw him many times around the school and the dormitory.

(Is he a security guard the North Korean authorities sent?)

(Or is he Kim Han Sol’s guardian?)

One thing was crystal clear–he was keeping an eye on the media.

The school dormitory was about a 30 minutes’ walk from the school.

The building has six stories and its exterior is painted a crisp blue and white.

I tried to talk with the dorm manager, but was told sharply, “No media are admitted.”

I waited outside the compound until it was almost night, but Kim Han Sol did not show up.

I decided to return the next morning.

It was still dark at 7 a.m. A young Asian-looking man wearing a blue jumper came out of the dormitory.

He was wearing black-framed glasses and had an earring in his left ear.

It was him, the youth whose picture had been posted on the Facebook social networking site.

His hair was black, unlike yellow as the Facebook photo showed.

“Hello, Mr. Han Sol,” I said to him in English.

No response at all.

He did not react when I pointed my camera at him, but simply kept walking without expression.

He seemed to be used to the media.

The youth believed to be Kim Han Sol did not utter a word all the way to school.

He was so confident and so aloof that it felt almost refreshing to be in his presence.

It was an odd feeling.

Dutch Stamp Collector Detained in DPRK Gives Interview

Store front of Willem van der Bijl's stamp and coin shop on Zandelstraat in Utrecht (Photo: RTV Utrecht)

A Dutch citizen held by DPRK authorities during the summer of 2011 has given a media interview about his detention.  Willem van der Bijl, a Utrecht shop owner and stamp collector, was detained and interrogated by the north’s Ministry of State Security for nearly two weeks from 29 July to 12 August.  Van der Bijl told NRC Handelsblad that he was arrested on espionage charges and kept in a 2 m by 3 m (6 ft by 9 ft) cell, surrounded by four armed guards.  He was interrogated three times a day, at 90 minute intervals, by two DPRK officials.  When not being interrogated, Van der Bijl spent 15 hours per day sitting in the chair in his cell.  Radio Netherlands Worldwide has a gist of the interview in its daily review of the Dutch press:

Philatelist Willem van der Bijl spent two weeks in a North Korean cell. The authorities mistrusted his Korean contacts and his collection of souvenirs. Not to mention the surreptitious snaps of an old village on his laptop: “You are trying to convince your leaders that our country is poor!” he was told.

Mr Van der Bijl’s account of his ordeal confirms quite a few suspicions about life under the Communist dictatorship. “I was in a cell, two by three metres with only a bed and a hard chair. I had to sit on the chair for 15 hours a day. I was surrounded by four soldiers 24 hours a day. I’m a positive fellow but it’s no wonder I began to lose my mind.” Thankfully he did not suffer any physical violence and after copying out a nine-page confession, he was eventually released.

So what was he doing in North Korea in the first place? “I love the people there,” he says. “They are sweet and naive … I’m an inquisitive soul, always have been. And it’s a fascinating place.” He admits he’s addicted and itching to go back. But he sighs “my friends and family won’t let me.”

Van der Bijl traveled to the DPRK 24 times, since 1998.  He was presumed missing on or about 30 July 2011, when he was not his return flight to Holland.  His colleagues and neighbors presumed that he had been detained.  While he was under arrest, DPRK media published a short essay about elections to local power organs which was supposedly written by Van der Bijl and carried an image of him wearing a party lapel pin.

Kim Pyong Il Back in Warsaw

Kim Pyong Il (Kim P'yo'ng-il)

DPRK Ambassador to Poland and Kim Jong Il’s step-brother, Kim Pyong Il (Kim P’yo’ng-il) is back at his posting in Warsaw.  In July, there were rumors that he was under house arrest after he returned to his home country for a summer vacation.  A Japanese magazine, citing a diplomatic source, reported on 17 October that Ambassador Kim attended an embassy-hosted banquet commemorating the DPRK’s foundation day in September.  Aside from this report there were no other accounts or reports of his presence in Poland.  However, KCNA corroborated KPI’s return to Warsaw, when it reported his attendance at a meeting commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birthday of his father, Kim Il-so’ng (Kim Il Sung).  The KCNA piece, excerpted below, did not identify KPI by name:

Attending it were personages of the Polish preparatory committee for commemorating the centenary of birth of Kim Il Sung, the C.C. of the Poland-Korea Association and its branches and the Opatow County Office and popular masses.

The ambassador and officials of the DPRK embassy in Warsaw were present on invitation.

Slaboy January Guzowski, chairman of the C.C., Poland-Korea Association, praised Kim Il Sung as a genuine people’s statesman who devoted all his life to the dignity of the nation and prosperity of the country.

That’s why the Korean people are holding him in high esteem as the eternal President of the DPRK while invariably carrying forward his idea and intentions.