North Korea replaces military chief
Print Edition
North Korea has replaced its military chief just a few months after his appointment, the latest in an ongoing reshuffle of top personnel that analysts say is meant to solidify young leader Kim Jong Un’s grip on power.
The name of new military chief, Ri Yong Gil, was revealed yesterday in a Korean Central News Agency dispatch listing top officials who accompanied Kim Jong Un to the mausoleum housing his father and grandfather.
Ri replaces Kim Kyok Sik, the former commander of battalions believed responsible for attacks on South Korea in 2010 that killed 50 people. It was only in May that state media dispatches first identified Kim as the military’s general chief of staff.
Observers believe Ri may have been appointed to replace Kim as early as August, when North Korea was pushing to ease animosity and resume lucrative cooperation projects with South Korea.
Little is known about Ri except that he served as commander of a frontline army corps and a top operation officer at the general staff. It’s not known what happened to the replaced Kim.
“We cannot say Ri is not a hard-liner, but Kim Kyok Sik has a reputation for taking an extraordinarily hard line on South Korea,” said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior fellow at the private Sejong Institute in South Korea.
He said it “would be burdensome” for North Korea to keep Kim in charge of the army when it was trying to improve ties with the outside world.
Kim Jong Un has frequently replaced top government, ruling party and military officials since taking power following the December 2011 death of his father. Nearly half of about 220 top government, Workers’ Party and military officials have been replaced since Kim took power, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry.
North Korea yesterday marked the 68th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party, with Kim paying respect to his late father and grandfather at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang.
Also yesterday, South Korea, the US and Japan began two days of naval drills aimed at improving readiness for maritime disasters. North Korea earlier called the drills a military confrontation and said its troop were ready to repel any enemy provocation.
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