Workers’ Orgs to Hold Conferences in May and June

National headquarters of the Kim Il Sung Youth League (L) and the Korea Democratic Women’s Union (R) in Pyongyang (Photo: Google image)

DPRK state media reported on 4 May (Friday) that the four major Workers’ Organizations will hold membership conferences “from late May to early June.”  KCNA reports:

Conferences of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League, the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea, the Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea and the Democratic Women’s Union of Korea are to be held here from late May to early June.

Discussed there will be the tasks of the working people’s organisations to hold in high esteem President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il as eternal leaders of the Party and revolution, carry through the decision of the Fourth Conference of the Workers’ Party of Korea and build a thriving socialist nation under the guidance of the dear respected Kim Jong Un.

It is not clear if the Workers’ Organizations’ conferences are linked to another large gathering in Pyongyang connected to boosting the country’s food supply.  Good Friends reported on its website on 2 May (Wednesday) that “the new leadership decided to hold a homeland meeting in Pyongyang early in May with the intent of preparing measures to resolve the problem of food shortages.  Three to four functionaries of related fields from each county, and even larger numbers from each city are continuing to gather in Pyongyang. . .the scale is second only to the party representatives’ conference held on 11 April.”  Good Friends also reported that Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n), “personally ordered the meeting to be held, saying that good methods of food production should be sought fundamentally.”

AFP reports:

North Korean officials from across the country will meet in Pyongyang this month to discuss ways to boost agriculture in the food-scarce nation, a Seoul aid group said on Thursday.

The ‘Homeland Conference’ will focus on ways to expand farmland in the mountainous nation by cultivating rugged areas and inactive land, Good Friends said on its website.

The meeting will draw hundreds of people including central and local government officials, ruling communist party officials and other state agencies, making it as large as a party meeting last month, the aid group said.

Seoul’s unification ministry could not immediately confirm the reported meeting, for which the aid group gave no date.

The North suffered a famine which killed hundreds of thousands in the 1990s and severe food shortages continue. UN agencies said last November that three million people would need food aid this year and child malnutrition was rising.

Good Friends said the Pyongyang meeting would also consider a chronic workforce shortage in agriculture.

Many collectivised farms suffer high rates of absenteeism as farmers roam in search of roots and wild greens to compensate for grain shortages, it said.

Mass Rally Held in Pyongyang

An "army-people" solidarity rally on 20 April 2012 in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang (Photo: Rodong Sinmun)

DPRK state media reported on Friday (20 April) that an “army-people” rally was held in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang.  The event included a demonstration and speaking program which lambasted South Korean political leaders.  KCNA reports:

A Pyongyang city army-people rally was held at Kim Il Sung Square Friday to vow to wipe out the Lee Myung Bak group, the sworn enemy, in this land and sky.

Attending the rally were senior party, state and army officials, officials of the party, the armed forces and power bodies, social organizations, ministries and national institutions, officers and men of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) and the Korean People’s Internal Security Forces, officials in the fields of science, education, literature and arts, public health and media and working people and youth and students as well as overseas Koreans and the chief of the Pyongyang mission of the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front.

Present there on invitation were diplomatic envoys of various countries and members of military attaches corps here and foreign guests.

The statement for the KPA Supreme Command was read out at the rally.

The floor was taken by representatives of the KPA officers and men, working class, agricultural workers, youth and students and women.

Yom Myong Su, an officer of the KPA, said the service persons of the KPA will not pardon the rat-like Lee Myung Bak group who hurt the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK by setting in motion aged reactionaries as miserable as paupers, gangster-like students and ultra-right conservative media.

The guy of Lee acting just like a puppy knowing no fear of a tiger is a half-wit and as disgusting as a rat, the officer noted.

Pong Won Ik, vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea, said that what rat-like Lee has done is nothing but the thrice-cursed crimes as he is no more than a political ignorant who only rummaged in a ditch at the bottom of the River Han and an idiot without an equal in the world.

Kim Hwa Suk, chairperson of the Sadong District Cooperative Farm Management Committee, noted that from olden times a rat has been considered as a disgusting animal as it lives inside a dirty pile of compost and eats dregs thrown away by people. This description is fit for rat-like Lee Myung Bak of modern brand, the chairperson added.

Kim Nam Chol, department director of the C.C., the youth league, said that it is disgrace and insult to a human being to wrest an apology from rat-like Myung Bak who is too miserable to be beaten and trampled down to death and the worst underwit as he is unable to properly discern a satellite from a long-range missile. This rat-like Lee group, the arch criminal blocking national unity and poisonous grass, deserves only a stern punishment, he pointed out.

Jon Song Ae of the Kyonghung Guidance Bureau vowed to more dynamically turn out in a nationwide sacred war to beat to death at an early date the worst political gangsters and the hordes of rabid rats gnawing at everything whenever they open their mouths till none of them is left.

The participants repeatedly shouted slogans like “Let us shower rat-like Lee Myung Bak group with fire of retaliation!” and “Let us cut off windpipes of rat-like Lee Myung Bak group!”

Then followed a demonstration.

On 18 April 2012 (Wednesday) the Korean People’s Army [KPA] Supreme Command issued a statement which defended various events held in the DPRK to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth and threatened “waging a sacred war to wipe out a tiny handful of traitors to the last man.”  KCNA reports:

The army and people of the DPRK celebrated in splendor with great national pride the centenary of the auspicious 100th Day of the Sun amid great attention and expectation of the whole world.

The celebrations were a grand political festival as they demonstrated the unshakable resolution of the army and people of the DPRK to dynamically advance toward the new century of juche full of conviction and optimism after reviewing with pride the glorious 100-year-long history of juche Korea.

The festive atmosphere ran high as Supreme Commander Kim Jong Un was elected to the top post of the party, state and revolution of the DPRK. The world came to look up to the DPRK with admiration and envy, saying that the most prominent man appeared in Korea in the East.

The people in the south are warmly hailing with national pride and honor the “appearance of extraordinary young leader” as the “rebirth of President Kim Il Sung”, the father of the nation and great sage.

Even at this hour an unprecedented jubilee which started in this land and is spreading to various parts of the world is turning into mankind’s events replete with “worship for Kim Jong Un” and “trust in Kim Jong Un.”.

It is only traitor Lee Myung-bak and his group that are committing such extreme provocations as chilling the festive atmosphere of fellow countrymen and daring hurt the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK.

The Lee group is hurling elder reactionaries of the “ROK Elders Alliance” and student hooligans into Kwanghwamun Square and other parts of Seoul to stage such hideous rowdyism as hurting the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK.

The group is wirepulling behind the scene such reckless acts as egging riff-raffs on to set up models portraying the supreme leadership of the DPRK and fire at them.

From right after the grand military parade of the DPRK to celebrate the Day of the Sun, the Lee group let wicked conservative media including Dong-A Ilbo paint a wrong picture of even the image of the dignified DPRK for its false propaganda purpose.

No matter how frantic the group may get with confrontation with fellow countrymen and no matter how high-handed it may go, there should always be a limit.

In view of the ceaseless grave provocations which should not be overlooked, the Supreme Command of the Korean People’s Army, as already declared, solemnly re-clarifies the will to wage an uninterrupted all-army and all-people sacred war to wipe out the Lee Myung-bak group of traitors, the sworn enemy with whom the nation can never live under the same sky.

The dynamic march past of ranks of paraders and powerful means for limitless strike on the square to celebrate the auspicious Day of the Sun will lead to the Korean-style battles to blow up the stronghold of the group of traitors.

When the group of traitors committed the thrice-cursed treason against the nation which suffered the great loss last year and hurt the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK at

units of the puppet army later, the DPRK warned the group of those crimes and clarified internally and externally its stand to take merciless retaliatory actions.

What is more irrepressible and intolerable is the resentment of the army and people of the DPRK at the group of traitors.

The immediate goal of the DPRK is to cut off the windpipes of the group and its followers hell- bent on hideous provocations and blow up the bases for provocations in the land and sky.

The single-mindedly united army and people of the DPRK who regard the dignity of the supreme leadership as more precious than their own lives will take merciless revenge upon any perpetrator of hideous provocations no matter where he is.

As even the heart of Seoul is served as a base for provocative acts of hurting the dignity of the DPRK’s supreme leadership, the DPRK will take a special action to blow up everything there.

Then the group will keenly realize what merciless punishment the whole army and all people of the DPRK will mete out to it for the thrice-cursed treason committed up to now.

No matter how desperately dogs may bark, they can do nothing against the bright sun.

The army and people of the DPRK who hold its supreme commander in high esteem as the eternal sun will step up the historic advance for prosperity at the watershed of history in which a new century of juche starts, while waging a sacred war to wipe out a tiny handful of group of traitors to the last man.

Those who dare provoke the inviolable DPRK should bear in mind that they would never be able to escape a stern punishment.

Yonhap reported of the KPA Supreme Command’s statement:

President Lee Myung-bak said last week the North’s rocket launch is estimated to have cost Pyongyang about US$850 million, and the destitute North could have spent the money to buy 2.5 million tons of corn, an amount that is enough to make up for food shortages in the country for six years.

South Korea also estimated that the North separately spent some US$350 million on the milestone anniversary for propaganda purposes as well as renovating its landmark hotel, the equivalent of feeding its 24 million people for 100 days.

The North’s government accused South Korea of fabricating the costs of the centenary anniversary, claiming Seoul’s move is aimed at tarnishing the North’s image and undermining its internal unity.

North Korea will stage a “sacred war to wipe out the group of traitors unless South Korea immediately apologize for insulting” the anniversary celebrations, the North Korean government said in a statement carried by the country’s official Korean Central News Agency.

South Korea said the statement went too far, though it said it would not make any reaction to the statement, a Unification Ministry official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing policy.

On Wednesday, the North’s military also vowed to mercilessly retaliate against South Korea for hurting the dignity of its supreme leadership. Some South Koreans have recently held anti- Pyongyang events in Seoul.

“As even the heart of Seoul is served as a base for provocative acts of hurting the dignity of the (North)’s supreme leadership, the (North) will take a special action to blow up everything there,” the Supreme Command of the Korean People’s Army warned in an English-language statement carried by the KCNA.

Seoul, the South Korean capital city of more than 10 million people, is within range of North Korea’s artillery.

The North has long bristled at any outside criticism of its leader and has made similar threats against the South over the past several months, although no actual attack has occurred yet.

South Korea has repeatedly vowed to avenge any North Korean attacks following the North’s two provocations in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans, mostly soldiers.

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.

Unha-3 Rocket in Place?

Technicians and other personnel of the Korea Committee for Space Technology and the Korean People’s Army [KPA] continue to finalize preparations for the launch of the U’nha-3 carrier rocket and Kwangmyo’ngso’ng-3 [KMS-3] satellite.  38 North reports:

Commercial satellite photographs taken on April 4 reveal the gantry’s work platform is now covered and closed around the mobile launch stand, indicating work is being conducted inside, but also making it impossible to determine whether the Unha-3 or any part of it is erected on the pad. Moreover, the platform is enclosed by canvas to protect it from weather but also to further ensure that activity inside is not visible. (Previous satellite imagery dating back to March 28 showed the platform open and no stages present.)

There are some indicators to suggest, however, that at least the first stage may be stacked in the gantry and the launch date is growing closer. First, the fueling activity observed for the past week seems to have been completed. Most of the empty fuel and oxidizer tanks appear to have been removed from the buildings that supply the first stage, indicating an end to the delivery of propellants.

Second, the North Koreans appear to have erected a barricade or security checkpoint for vehicles entering from the west, the only road to the pad from other main facilities at the range. This barrier or checkpoint, not present in March 28 satellite photos, indicates heightened security at the pad—something present.

Third, the launch pad itself has been cleaned up and objects seen near the gantry previously have been removed. The scraping of the area adjacent to the south side of the pad down to dirt has also been completed and the brush cut up to the fuel buildings to reduce the chance of a fire reaching them. It also appears that a layer of dirt has been spread into the concrete flame trench probably to reduce erosion by the rockets exhaust gases.

KBS World in Seoul reports that the launch is expected to occur on or around 14 April (Saturday):

A source related to North Korean affairs has said Pyongyang is likely to launch its long-range missile on April 14th and not April 12th, as was expected earlier.

The source said North Korea has invited reporters from foreign media to the launch event, telling them to enter Pyongyang on April 12th.

The source said considering the state of North Korean roadways, it will take at least a day to move from Pyongyang to the launch pad in Dongchang-ri in Northern Pyongan Province, and the invited reporters will likely observe the launch on the morning of the 14th.

Other North Korean experts also said it was highly likely the North would fire its rocket that day to commemorate the birth of North Korean founder Kim Il-Sung.

Japan’s Nippon Television Network said on Friday that North Korea has attached the first part of the Gwangmyongsong-3 rocket onto the launch pad.

South Korean military sources have said North Korea will probably start fueling its rocket on Sunday.

Foster Klug writes for the Associated Press:

The North Korean launch is meant as a showcase of national power and technology during celebrations of one of the country’s most important days — the centennial of the April 15 birth of national founder Kim Il Sung. North Korea says the rocket will carry a satellite into orbit to study crops and natural resources.

Washington and others call the launch a cover to test missile systems that could target parts of the United States. While North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests, analysts don’t believe it has yet mastered the technology needed to shrink a nuclear weapon and mount it onto a missile.

Launch preparation can also be seen in separate GeoEye satellite images from Saturday reviewed by Allison Puccioni, image analyst at IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly. The images show vehicles on the launch pad, nearby fuel and oxidizer containers and a crane above the launch tower that’s been placed “directly over the mobile launch platform, the position necessary to erect the rocket.”

Cloudy skies from Sunday through Tuesday obscured the launch site, but the U.S.-Korea Institute’s analysis says that if Pyongyang is following a timeline similar to 2006 and 2009 launches, workers should have put the rocket’s first stage on the launch stand Sunday or Monday, with the second and third stages coming during the next two days.

Image: Asahi Shimbun

Nanae Kurashige, Takashi Oshima and Akihiko Kaise reported for Asahi Japan Watch :

South Korea says Japan has overreacted, and the United States seems to be more concerned with what the missile can do, rather than what might happen if it malfunctions.

On April 6, Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka visited the Air Defense Command headquarters, located in the compound of U.S. Yokota Air Base in Fussa, western Tokyo. The ADC is under the jurisdiction of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces.

There, he met with ADC Commander Harukazu Saito and U.S. Forces Japan Commander Burton Field, and expressed his hope that Japan and the United States would work closely to deal with the problem.

The ADC headquarters was transferred to the Yokota base in late March to facilitate coordination with the United States.

The office will analyze intelligence gathered by U.S. forces and Japan’s SDF, and command operations to intercept the North Korean missile if there is any chance of it landing on Japanese territory or its waters.

“I was reassured by Commander Field that U.S. forces will share information with Japan,” Tanaka told reporters after his visit.

On April 3, Tanaka spoke by telephone with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, during which they both agreed that Japan and the United States would work together to deal with the threat.

However, a Japanese Defense Ministry official said Washington’s sense of crisis is more subdued than in 2009 when Pyongyang launched a long-range ballistic missile in the direction of the U.S. mainland.

This time, however, the missile will take a southern trajectory.

In both cases, North Korea asserted it was launching a satellite.

“The country that is feeling the biggest threat is Japan,” said an executive of the Japanese Defense Ministry.

Japan is deploying Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) surface-to-air guided missiles in three locations in the Tokyo metropolitan area and four locations in Okinawa Prefecture.

But there appears to be little chance of missile debris, or the missile itself, falling on the Tokyo metropolitan area, a Defense Ministry official said.

The United States has yet to disclose full details of its own measures to deal with the missile launch.

On April 5, U.S. Defense Department spokesman George Little told reporters that the United States is monitoring North Korean moves and is ready to track the missile if it is launched.

The United States is deploying Aegis destroyers equipped with missile defense capabilities. Reconnaissance aircraft will also take to the air.

CNN reported that sea-based X-band radar equipment, which is used to detect incoming missiles, left a U.S. Navy base in Hawaii in late March bound for the Japan-Korea region.

Washington is particularly interested in the range and capability of the North Korean missile.

In a congressional hearing held in late March, U.S. Forces Korea Commander James Thurman was asked if North Korea had the ability in the near future to fire a ballistic missile that could reach the continental United States.

Thurman said North Korea, at its current pace of development, would soon be able to build a missile that poses a serious threat to the United States.

Meanwhile, DPRK state media reports that 30-odd news reporters and journalists have begun arriving to observe the U’nha-3/KMS-3 launch.  Xinhua reports:

Some 30 foreign reporters from around the world are in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) capital to cover the country’s satellite launch, the official news agency KCNA reported Saturday.

According to the report, a total of 21 foreign media, including major world wire services and television broadcasters such as the AP, CNN and NBC of the United States, Channel One (the First Channel TV) of Russia, Kyodo News Agency and NHK of Japan, AFP of France, and Reuters and BBC of Britain, have sent reporters to Pyongyang.

Also on Saturday, Pyongyang bureaus of Xinhua and other foreign media received an invitation to attend authorities-organized activities relating to the launch on Sunday, but no further details were revealed.

The DPRK announced on March 16 it would launch the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite between April 12 and 16 to mark the 100th birthday of late leader Kim Il-Sung.

The “earth observation” satellite, to be carried by a long-range Unha-3 rocket, will be launched south of Cholsan County, North Phyongan Province, the KCNA reported.

On March 17, the Korean Committee for Space Technology (KCST) extended invitations for foreign experts and journalists to visit the “Sohae” Satellite Launching Station, the General Satellite Control and Command Center and other places and observe the launch.

Huichon Power Station Opened

Photo released by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 6, 2012 shows the inauguration ceremony held at the Huichon power station in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), on April 5, 2012. The DPRK said on April 6 that its Huichon power station has started operations, which will help ease electricity shortages in the capital. The power station, located in Jagang Province, will also help protect cultivated land and residential areas along the Chongchon River from flooding, and ensure an ample supply of water to the industrial establishments in Huichon and Namhung areas, according to official media reports. (Xinhua/KCNA)

The DPRK opened the Hu’ich’o'n Power Station in Chagang Province on Thursday (5 April).  Supreme People’s Assembly [SPA] Presidium President Kim Yong Nam, DPRK Cabinet Premier Choe Yong Rim, National Defense Commission [NDC] Vice Chairman and Minister of the People’s Armed Forces VMar Kim Yong Chun, KWP Secretary Choe Tae Bok, KWP Secretary and Director of General Affairs Tae Jong Su, Gen. Yun Jong Rin and DPRK Vice Premier and State Planning Commission Chairman Ro Tu Chol were among the members of the central leadership to attend the opening ceremony.  Choe Yong Rim delivered the keynote address.  Choe was last reported to have visit the construction site of Huichon Power Station on 20 February 2012.  Xinhua reports:

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Friday that its Huichon power station has started operations, which will help ease electricity shortages in the capital.

Premier Choe Yong Rim told an inauguration ceremony on Thursday that the Huichon power station was “a brilliant fruition of the wise guidance of late leader Kim Jong Il,” official newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported.

The power station, located in Jagang Province, will also help protect cultivated land and residential areas along the Chongchon River from flooding, and ensure an ample supply of water to the industrial establishments in Huichon and Namhung areas, according to official media reports.

The Central Committee and Central Military Commissions of the Workers’ Party of Korea sent a joint congratulatory message to builders and members of shock brigades.

The party “will always remember the heroic feats performed by the builders who erected a gigantic structure for the country’s prosperity and its people’s happiness,” the message said.

The message said it took only three years to complete the construction of the power station, a project which normally needs more than 10 years to finish.

The Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly issued a decree on April 1 awarding the Kim Il Sung Prize for the design of the Huichon power station.

DPRK Premier Choe Yong Rim delivers the keynote address during an opening ceremony of Huichon Power Station in Jagang Province on Thursday, April 5 (Photo: KCNA)

Photo released by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 6, 2012 shows the Huichon power station in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The DPRK said on April 6 that its Huichon power station has started operations, which will help ease electricity shortages in the capital. The power station, located in Jagang Province, will also help protect cultivated land and residential areas along the Chongchon River from flooding, and ensure an ample supply of water to the industrial establishments in Huichon and Namhung areas, according to official media reports. (Xinhua/KCNA)

Yonhap reports:

North Korea said Friday that it has dedicated a new hydroelectric power plant in its central northern area bordering China, a project long touted as a symbol of its bid for the construction of a “strong and prosperous state.”

“The construction of the Huichon Power Station has been completed in the DPRK,” the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, adding that a dedication ceremony took place on Thursday.

DPRK is the acronym for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“The builders finished the construction of the power station in a matter of three years though it would have taken more than a decade at normal pace,” the KCNA said.

Chronic shortage of electricity and other energy has long been one of the problems beleaguering the North’s moribund economy, which has been under sanctions by the international community due to its nuclear and missile tests.

“The completion makes it possible to more satisfactorily settle the shortage of electricity in Pyongyang, protect cultivated land and residential areas along the River Chongchon from flooding and ensure an ample supply of industrial water to the industrial establishments in the Huichon and Namhung areas,” KCNA said.

The plant, which has a generating capacity of 300,000 kilowatts, was launched by late leader Kim Jong-il, who reportedly visited the construction site eight times before his death last December to order an early completion of the project.

North Korea has designated 2012 as a moment in its history to rise as “a great, powerful and prosperous nation” — a propaganda slogan that was spearheaded by Kim Jong-il.

New economic goals were announced in 2009 that called for undertaking major construction projects as well as modernizing farms and factories in time for the centennial birth of the communist country’s founder, Kim Il-Sung, on April 15.

Earlier, North Korea announced plans to launch a satellite on the back of a long-range rocket as part of the April celebrations. The international community has urged Pyongyang to cancel the launch, warning that it would be seen as a violation of a ban on missile activity.

The Associated Press reports:

The opening of the Huichon Power Station in Jagang Province, north of Pyongyang, was the first big ceremony in a month of celebrations timed for the April centenary of the birth of late President Kim Il Sung.

The power station on the Chongchon River, which had been under construction for more than three years, was a favored project of late leader Kim Jong Il. Kim had visited the project at least five times before his December death.

Son Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s new leader, visited the construction site with his father in August 2011.

The power station is North Korea’s largest, with two dams and a network of tunnels. The dams harness water from the Jangja and Chongchon Rivers. Construction on a second power station further down the Chongchon River is due to begin soon, said the top officials who spoke at Thursday’s ceremony.

North Korea suffers from an acute power shortage.

New economic goals announced in 2009 called for undertaking major construction projects such as the Huichon Power Station as well as modernizing farms and factories in time for the April 2012 festivities.

North Korea will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth on April 15.

North Korea also has announced plans to launch a satellite on the back of a long-range rocket as part of the celebrations. The United States and other nations have urged Pyongyang to cancel the launch, warning that it would be seen as a violation of a ban on missile activity.

Memorial Rally Ends KJI Mourning Period

Kim Jong Un (2nd L) attends a 25 March national memorial rally in Pyongyang ending the country's 100-day mourning period for deceased supreme leader Kim Jong Il. Seen with him are Chief of the KPA General Staff VMar Ri Yong Ho (L), SPA Presidium President Kim Yong Nam (3rd L), his aunt and member of the Political Bureau Kim Kyong Hui (2nd R) and Political Bureau member Jon Pyong Ho (R) (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

People attend the memorial service to mark the 100th day since the death of Kim Jong Il, late top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on March 25, 2012. (Xinhua/Zhang Li)

DPRK state media reported on Sunday (25 March) that the 100-day mourning period for Kim Jong Il ended.  The country’s central leadership marked the occasion with two events.  Early on Sunday, Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) led a group of DPRK elites in paying their respects at Ku’msusan Memorial Palace where his grandfather, country founder and late DPRK President Kim Il Sung lies in state and where KJI will eventually lie in repose.  Later the same day, KJU and other DPRK leaders attended a national memorial rally for KJI as Kim Il Sung Square.

ITAR-TASS reports:

North Korean premier Choe Yong Rim, speaking on Sunday at a mass rally in the capital’s central square on the occasion of the 100 days since the death of the head of state, pointed to great services of Kim Jong-Il to the Korean nation.

He noted that the deceased leader turned North Korea “into a militarily strong country”, made an important contribution to the cause of reunification of the two parts of the Korean Peninsula. Besides, the premier continued, “Kim Jong-Il brilliantly settled the question on continuity of power”.

Choe also pointed to important measures, taken by the leader’s young son Kim Jong-Un, to immortalize the memory of his father. For instance, at the initiative of the new North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Il was awarded the title of generalissimo, and the Kumsusan Memorial Palace was renamed into the “Palace of Sun”.

In this connection, the prime minister called for standing closer behind Kim Jong-Un whose leadership “will be a guarantee for successful implementation of the DPRK’s revolutionary course”.

Then, the rally was addressed by Minister of People’s Armed Forces and Vice-Marshal Kim Yong-Chun. According to the vice-marshal, thanks to Kim Jong-Il’s efforts, North Korea “has turned into an invincible country which nobody dares to attack”.

Now, the minister went on to say, the state is headed by Kim Jong-Un, inspecting military units and “demonstrating firm determination to pursue further the songun policy (militarily oriented policy of North Korea)”. The vice-marshal noted that such trips “instill faith in victory into our servicemen”.

“The people and the army will defend with all efforts the central committee of the Korean Workers Party headed by Kim Jong-Un,” the minister stressed. He blasted the South Korean authorities for the provocative policy of confrontation against fellow countrymen in the North.

Following the rally in the central square of Pyongyang where a large portrait of Kim Jong-Il was exhibited and where gun salvoes thundered, North Korean people honoured the memory of the passed leader with three-minute silence exactly at 12.00 local time. All locomotives and ships as well as cars hooted simultaneously.

The rally was attended by all the country’s leadership, including Kim Jong-Un, heads and representatives of foreign diplomatic missions, officers of international humanitarian organizations, operating here, and foreign reporters.

Rallies and meetings, dedicated to Kim Jong-Il who headed North Korea over the past 17 years, took place in all districts of the country. The head of state passed away on last December 17 of a heart attack, caused by extreme overwork.

Members of the DPRK central leadership attending a national memorial rally in Pyongyang on 25 March 2012. Seen in attendance in this image (L-R) are: Jang Song Taek; Gen. O Kuk Ryol; Kim Ki Nam; VMar Ri Yong Mu; VMar Kim Yong Chun; VMar Ri Yong Ho; Kim Jong Un; Kim Yong Nam; Choe Yong Rim (Photo: KCNA)

Kim Jong Un (2nd R) bows during a 25 March national memorial rally held to end the 100-days of mourning for his father, Kim Jong Il. In this image are: NDC Vice Chairman, VMar Ri Yong Mu (L); NDC Vice Chairman and Minister of the People's Armed Forces, VMar Kim Yong Chun (2nd L); Chief of the KPA General Staff, VMar Ri Yong Ho; and, SPA Presidium President Kim Yong Nam (Photo: KCNA)

Kim Jong-Un (C), top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), attends the memorial service to mark the 100th day since the death of Kim Jong Il, late top leader of DPRK, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on March 25, 2012. (Xinhua/Zhang Li)

NHK reports:

North Korea held a large ceremony on Sunday to mark the 100th day after the death of former leader Kim Jong Il.

Many military personnel gathered at a square in Pyongyang, the capital, where a huge portrait of the former leader was placed.

Kim’s son and the country’s new leader, Kim Jong Un, appeared on a podium with top officials of the Workers’ Party and military and they together observed a moment of silence.

The prayer was followed by a speech by Premier Choe Yong Rim, in which he praised the former leader and stressed that Kim Jong Un will carry on his achievements.

Choe also condemned South Korea’s government of President Lee Myung-bak.

Sunday’s ceremony is seen as North Korea’s attempt to show at home and abroad that the period of mourning for the former leader has ended. It is also apparently designed to arouse loyalty from military personnel.

North Korea plans to hold a series of political events next month to mark the centenary of the birth of its founder, Kim Il Sung. They include a meeting of representatives of the Workers’ Party and a session of the Supreme People’s Assembly, the country’s parliament.

North Korea also plans to launch a rocket carrying a satellite. The plan has drawn criticism from Japan, the United States, South Korea, and other countries as a violation of UN resolutions as the launch will involve long-range ballistic missile technology.

Kim Jong Un (C) and members of the central leadership prepare to bow in front of an image of Kim Jong Il mounted on marble (below) at Ku'msusan Memorial Palace, as the DPRK ended its 100-day mourning period. (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

Members of the central leadership bow to an image of Kim Jong Il. Standing behind Kim Jong Un are: his aunt Kim Kyong Hui (1st row, L) DPRK Premier Choe Yong Rim (1st row, 2nd L) DPRK Vice Premier Kang Sok Ju (2nd row, 3rd R), Chief of the KPA General Staff VMar Ri Yong Ho (1st row, 2nd R) and NDC Vice Chairman and Minister of the People's Armed Forces Kim Yong Chun (1st row, R) (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

Members of the central leadership bow to an image of Kim Jong Il. Standing behind Kim Jong Un are: SPA Presidium President Kim Yong Nam (L), NDC Vice Chairman Gen. O Kuk Ryol (3rd R), NDC Vice Chairman and Kim Jong Un's uncle Jang Song Taek (2nd R) and NDC Member and Senior Vice Director of the KPA General Political Department, VMar Kim Jong Gak (R) (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

Meanwhile, northwest of Pyongyang, preparations for the April 2012 launch of the U’nha-3 are underway.  Yonhap reports:

North Korea has brought the main body of a long-range rocket to a launch site in the northwestern part of the impoverished, nuclear-armed communist state, a local report said Sunday.

A train took the main body to the launch facility in Dongchang-ri, Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, Saturday, Fuji Television said citing informed sources.

North Korea has said it will launch the rocket to put an observation satellite into orbit between April 12 and 16 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founding father Kim Il-sung, which falls on April 15.

Kim Il-sung is the father of Kim Jong-il, the late North Korean leader who died of heart attack in December. Kim Jong-il’s son, Jong-un, has taken over in the unprecedented third-generation power transition in any communist state.

South Korea and the United States have called on the North to refrain from the planned rocket launch, seeing it as a disguised ballistic missile test.

The North’s move comes as U.S. President Barack Obama and scores of other global leaders are flocking to Seoul to attend the second Nuclear Security Summit.

Washington has said it will not provide food aid to Pyongyang if the North proceeds with the rocket launch, although the U.S. agreed in February to ship 240,000 tons of food to the impoverished North in return for the North’s moratorium on missile and nuclear tests and freeze of uranium enrichment.

North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions imposed in 2009 after Pyongyang’s nuclear and long-range rocket tests.

A view of the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in Tongch'ang-ri, North P'yo'ngan Province, taken on 20 March 2012 (Photo: Yonhap)

RT reports on the preparations of the launch, as well as reactions and interactions in Seoul where the Nuclear Security Summit will open on Monday (26 March):

North Korean military specialists have delivered parts of a ballistic missile to the country’s northwestern launch pad, South Korean military informed. The launch is at the center of international concern as it is believed to have a military motive.

­Pyongyang is preparing to mark the centennial of North Korea founder, “farther of nation” Kim Il-sun in April with Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite space launch. The country is firmly intended to conduct a launch around April 15 according to North Korea’s Foreign Ministry. North Korea insists that the launch is purely civilian and that it has a sovereign right to pursue space exploration.

Washington believes North Korea’s rocket launches are a cover to test a nuclear warhead delivery vehicle. If the test is successful, Pyongyang’s long-range rocket will be capable of targeting Alaska and beyond.

North Korea’s upcoming rocket launch is going to be aimed south into a triangle area “roughly between Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines”, a senior US official has warned.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Saturday that Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, shared this information with Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on North Korean leaders to abstain from carrying out the launch. He recalled UN Resolution 1874, which prohibits North Korea from developing and testing long-range missiles and having an active nuclear weapons program. This resolution was adopted in 2009 after a North Korean space launch, and the new firing is being considered a violation of the UN-adopted resolution.

The UN secretary-general met South Korean leader Lee Myung-bak in Seoul and they called the missile test a “provocation against the international community.”

The North Korean launch is expected to dominate sideline discussions of leaders from nearly 60 countries at the nuclear security summit in Seoul.

North Korean neighbor Japan condemns the test and announced it is going to shot the rocket down using three AEGIS warships should it threaten the country.

The US, France, Russia and other countries condemned North Korea’s plans.

American President Barack Obama has visited the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea on Sunday. He observed the movements of North Korean troops on the other side being behind armored glass just 100 meters from the 38th parallel that divides the two countries.

President Obama warned Pyongyang would find itself in even deeper isolation from the international community if the long-range rocket launch takes place.

“North Korea will achieve nothing by threats or provocations,” Obama said during a news conference in Seoul. “Bad behavior will not be rewarded,” Obama added.

North Korea has been consistently insisting on the peaceful nature of its space program. But since the country’s population continues to live in desperate need, it is hard to explain why a country dependent on foreign humanitarian aid needs multi-stage rockets capable of delivering nuclear warheads.

The BBC reports  (video of Obama Camp Bonifas here)

In response to questions from journalists, the two leaders said it was hard to make an assessment of North Korea’s new leader, Kim Jong-un, who came to power following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in December.Mr Obama said it was “not clear exactly who is calling the shots” in North Korea and what their long-term objectives were, while Mr Lee said the planned rocket launch was a “disappointment”.

The BBC’s Lucy Williamson in Seoul says there had been hopes that the US aid deal and a new, young leader were indications the crisis could be moving towards resolution, but that with the announcement of the missile test, those hopes have gone.

The launch is scheduled for 12-16 April, to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the birth of the country late Great Leader Kim Il-sung.

South Korean defence officials say the main body of the rocket has now been moved to the launch site in preparation.

Earlier on Sunday, Mr Obama visited some of the US personnel based at the the heavily fortified Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) which separates the two Koreas.

The US has some 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea under a post-Korean War security alliance.

Mr Obama told the soldiers they were defending “freedom’s frontier” and thanked them for helping to “create the space and the opportunity for freedom and prosperity”.

Mr Lee is hosting more than 50 countries for a two-day summit on nuclear security in Seoul starting on Monday.

The summit’s main focus will be preventing criminal or militant groups from acquiring nuclear weapons – North Korea is not officially on the agenda but is expected to feature in talks on the sidelines.

Meanwhile, North Koreans have been marking the end of 100 days of official mourning for Kim Jong-il. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Pyongyang to pay tribute to the leader, who died of a heart attack in December.

The Associated Press reports:

The president’s three-day trip here amounts to a reminder of the international struggles in his lap in the midst of a re-election year driven more by economic woes. He came to solidify pressure on North Korea, seek help with crises in Syria and Iran and advance a global effort he spearheaded to keep nuclear material from getting into terrorists’ hands.

Obama wore a tired look after a 17-hour flight from Washington, a helicopter ride to the border zone, two sets of diplomatic talks, the news conference and an official dinner. But he succeeded in showing solidarity with his diplomatic friend, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, and in cementing a lasting presidential image from inside no-man’s land.

The Demilitarized Zone is a Cold War anachronism, a legacy of the uncertain armistice that ended the Korean War nearly 60 years ago. Hundreds of thousands of troops stand ready on both sides of the border zone, which is littered with land mines and encased in razor wire.

From a lookout point with binoculars is hand, Obama peered North, then South, within a football-field’s length of the demarcation line.

He also shook hands and spoke briefly in the dining hall at a U.S. military camp just outside the 2.5-mile-zone, saying the troops were working at “freedom’s frontier.”

The United States has about 28,500 troops in South Korea, a deterrent force and a symbol of the military might Obama wants to keep in Asia.

The planned rocket launch by North Korea is yet another setback for the U.S. in years of on-again, off-again attempts to launch real negotiations.

North Korea walked away from international disarmament talks in 2009. Years of fitful negotiations had succeeded in ending part of North Korea’s nuclear program but failed in stopping it from building and testing nuclear devices and long-range missiles that might be able to carry bombs.

Obama said the launch would jeopardize a new deal for the U.S. to resume food aid to North Korea, and the world community would likely respond with another round of sanctions.

The big consequence for North Korea, he said, would be one big blown opportunity.

“If a country can’t feed its people effectively, if it can’t make anything of any use to anybody, if it has no exports other than weapons, and even those aren’t ones that in any way would be considered state-of-the-art … then you’d think you’d want to try something different.”

For his part, Lee said: “There is no difference of opinion between the U.S. and South Korea. We’ll remain very calm and rational and we will be wise in dealing with the North Koreans if in fact they do go ahead with their announcement.”

Obama has called nuclear terrorism the gravest threat the United States and the world may face. North Korea is a prime suspect in the proliferation of some nuclear know-how, along with missiles that could be used to deliver weapons of mass destruction.

SPA To Convene on 13 April

DPRK state media reported on 24 March (Saturday) that the 12th Supreme People’s Assembly [SPA] will convene on 13 April 2012 for its fifth session (plenum; plenary session).  The meeting of the country’s unicameral legislature has been scheduled during the range of possible launch dates of the U’nha-3 reported to international organizations by the Korea Committee for Space Technology.  The 12th SPA’s fifth session is also scheduled to occur at about the same time as the 4th Party Conference which was scheduled for “mid-April,” as well as 12 days ahead of the official 80th anniversary of the foundation of the Korean People’s Army [KPA].  KCNA reports:

The Fifth Session of the 12th Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) of the DPRK will be held here on April 13.

A relevant decision of the Presidium of the SPA was released on Thursday.

Kyodo English reports:

North Korea will convene a parliamentary session on April 13, the country’s official media reported Saturday, fueling speculation that leader Kim Jong Un may be elected chairman of the National Defense Commission, the leading state organ.

Analysts have been watching to see when Kim, who became supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army in late December, will inherit two other major posts his later father Kim Jong Il possessed as leader — general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and chairman of the National Defense Commission.

Article 100 of North Korea’s Constitution says the chairman of the defense commission is ”the supreme leader” of the country.

”The Fifth Session of the 12th Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK will be held here on April 13,” the Korean Central News Agency said in a short dispatch from Pyongyang, referring to North Korea by the acronym for its official name the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The session comes two days before the country marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of state founder Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Un’s grandfather.

There is growing speculation that Kim Jong Un may become general secretary of the party at a party conference slated for mid-April.

Once he inherits all three titles, North Korea will have effectively completed the transition of power to the younger Kim from Kim Jong Il, who died of a heart attack on Dec. 17 at age 69.

At the parliamentary session, delegates are likely to deliberate issues such as government activities and the state budget. They may also elect members of the National Defense Commission.

Xinhua English:

The Fifth Session of the 12th Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) of the DPRK will be held onApril 13, and representatives of the SPA should be registered on April 11-12, said the KCNA ina brief dispatch, without elaborating its agenda.

The SPA is the supreme power organ of the DPRK, which holds the highest position andauthority of the country and exercises legislative power.

The announcement came as the country’s preparations for a satellite launch ”have entered afull-fledged stage of action,” a spokesman for the DPRK’s foreign ministry said Friday.

According to the KCNA, the projected launch of the Satellite Kwangmyongsong-3 is to mark thecentenary of the birth of late President Kim Il Sung, and it is a worldwide trend to launch anduse satellites needed for a country’s economic development.

The spokesman said peaceful satellite launching is an exercise of ”an independent andlegitimate right” for all countries.

The DPRK’s satellite launch is ”an issue fundamentally different from the February 29 DPRK-US Agreement,” as the DPRK has consistently clarified that ”the satellite launch is not includedin the long-range missile launch” covered by the DPRK-U.S. high-level talks, the spokesmanadded.

Kim Jong Un has not been reported to be a deputy (delegate) to the SPA.  According to some Pyongyang watchers, KJU was elected under a pseudonym during the SPA election in March 2009.  He has also not been reported in attendance at any SPA sessions and no images or video footage of him attending a session have surfaced in documentary films or other media promoting his succession.  After the announcement of the 4th party conference, some watchers estimated that the 5th session of the 12th SPA would be held to appoint KJU as his father’s replacement as Chairman of the National Defense Commission [NDC].

However, the central leadership may defer KJU’s NDC appointment until another 12th SPA session in 2012 or 2013, or wait until 2014 when the country elects and convenes the 13th Supreme People’s Assembly.  Kim Jong Il did not become an SPA deputy until the convocation of the 7th Supreme People’s Assembly in 1982, which took place after he was elected to the Political Bureau Presidium, Party Secretariat and Party Central Military Commission during the 6th Party Congress in October 1980.  And yet, there is no constitutional mandate  that the NDC Chairman be an active deputy of the SPA to qualify for election to the DPRK government’s highest office.

Even if Kim Jong Un is a deputy to the SPA, he is most likely its youngest member.  According to a brief news item published on Urminzokkiri (Urminjokkkiri) on 23 February 2012, 49.5 % of SPA deputies were ages 35-55 and 50.5 % were age 56 or older.  The same news item reported that of the 12th SPA’s 687 deputies: 15.6 % were women; 16.9% were officers or service members of the KPA; 10.9% were factory or clerical workers; 10.1% were agricultural workers; 94.2% graduated from an institution of higher learning; and, 42.4 % were recipients of the Kim Il Sung Award, Hero of the Republic or other state titles.

The last session of the 12th SPA was held on 7 April 2011.  In addition to approving the DPRK Cabinet’s policy and budget proposals for the year, Gen. Ri Myo’ng-su was appointed Minister of People’s Security to replace the dismissed Gen. Ju Sang Song.  Korean Workers’ Party [KWP] Secretary Pak To Chun was elected a member of the National Defense Commission [NDC] to replace Jon Pyong Ho.  Neither Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un nor Mr. Pak attended the 12th SPA’s 4th session.  At the time, KJI was touring factories and other locales in Chagang Province.  It is highly likely that during this particular tour, KJI was involved in setting policy guidance around the Sohae Center’s maiden launch

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.

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.