NK leader moving to reduce military`s influence

Several senior military officials in North Korea have been replaced or demoted since Kim Jong Un took over as supreme leader early this year.

In July, Ri Yong Ho, the general chief of the North Korean military, was dismissed in a surprise move. His successor, Hyon Yong Chol, was demoted from vice marshal to general, and six of nine commanders of infantry corps on the frontline and rear areas were also replaced recently.

Since Kim Yong Chol, head of the North’s General Bureau of Reconnaissance, was considered a close aide to Ri, the former was expected to suffer a fate similar to Ri. Kim’s demotion, however, came three months after Ri’s dismissal and was separate from their relationship.

Many experts say Kim Jong Un has shown his intent to tighten control over the military through a major shakeup of top brass. The young leader, though having little experience with the armed forces, is apparently attempting to tame the military through sweeping reshuffles and tightened control over its budget.

In South Korea, the National Intelligence Service in July reported to the National Assembly that Ri was fired because of refusal to cooperate in the process of the young leader’s tightening control over the military.

In addition, Kim Jong Un appointed Choe Ryong Hae to head the General Bureau of Reconnaissance, a key post in the North’s military, to control the military and had it hand over its money-making businesses to the Cabinet. A case in point was that the North’s unit for attracting foreign investment had its control transferred from the military to Jang Song Taek, the North Korean leader’s uncle and Pyongyang`s No. 2 man. “The North is keeping in check the influence of its military, which had grown excessively big under Kim Jong Il’s military-first politics,” said Lee Seung-yeol, a research fellow at the Ewha Womans University Institute for Unification in Seoul.

Kim Jong Un has also created tension in the Cabinet via reshuffles. He has had seven ministers replaced this year, including four alone last month. Analysts say the North Korean leader is seeking a major generational shift by promoting younger talent to key posts in the hope of leading the impoverished country’s economic reforms.

Resentment is growing in the North Korean military, however, over Kim Jong Un’s military shakeup. “Military units that lost their revenue sources after their money-making powers were taken by the Cabinet have been seen looting civilians and disobeying orders from superiors,” a South Korean official said. “We understand that the North is getting its officers and men to promise not to loot civilians.”

Kim Yeon-su, a professor at the National Defense University of (South) Korea, said, “The food conditions of North Korean military units have deteriorated beyond description. This year’s defections by three North Korean soldiers via the Demilitarized Zone are related to this reality.”