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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the workers’ quarters of the Kim Jong-suk Textile Mill in Pyongyang

By Kim Oi-hyun, staff reporter

The North Korean media officially confirmed on May 1 that Choi Ryong-hae had been replaced as Korean People’s Army (KPA) general political bureau chief by Hwang Pyong-so, first deputy director of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) organization and guidance department. Hwang was recently promoted to vice-marshal.

Analysts said Hwang’s rise to the highest position of authority in the North Korean military may be an attempt by the Kim Jong-un regime to solidify WPK control over the military and head off any challenges to Kim’s rule. No details were available yet on the fate of Choi, who was known to be Kim’s “second-in-command” after the execution of Jang Song-thaek late last year.

The chief of the KPA general political bureau holds enormous authority, with the power to place people in major military leadership posts. Experts believe supreme command in the KPA is shared among three individuals: the chief of general staff representing the military, the general political bureau chief representing the party, and the people’s armed forces minister representing the Cabinet. The chief of general staff has authority for military operations, while the general political bureau chief has authority for most military administration, including personnel, logistics, supplies, and general administration. The remainder of responsibilities fall to the people’s armed forces minister.

The general politburo chief’s role is significant in terms of both duties and symbolism, as he oversees political and philosophical affairs for the military in a regime where ideology reigns supreme.

Hwang reportedly began as a bureaucrat working for the WPK in the 1990s, which would mean a former party functionary - rather than a military man - was appointed to serve as its highest-ranking link to the party.

“The rank of general political bureau chief is extremely important in the Kim Jong-un regime,” said Kim Dong-yeop, a research professor at the Kyungnam University Institute for Far Eastern Studies. “He needs to honor the leader’s wish to redistribute the military’s roles to civilians, while quieting objections from the military.”

Since the time Kim Il-sung was head of state, North Korea was kept the public in line by providing the military with priority supplies of various resources. Now, analysts are saying, the Kim Jong-un regime wants to give nuclear duties to the military while redistributing other resources to civilian areas as part of its “two-track” approach emphasizing nuclear and economic development.

“They’re establishing a system of unchallenged rule for Kim Jong-un through his direct instructions for the military,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies.

No word was come from North Korea yet on the fate of Choi Ryong-hae, who stepped down as general political bureau chief after holding the post for two years. But South Korean government authorities view a purge as unlikely.

“In cases like those of Ri Yong-ho and Jang Song-thaek, their dismissals were announced during reports on the findings of an expanded political bureau meeting,” said Ministry of Unification spokesman Kim Ui-do in a May 2 briefing. “There haven’t been any reports like that at all for Choi Ryong-hae, so we see the likelihood of him having been purged as fairly low.”

Another reason analysts gave for not believing Choi was purged is the fact that he was promoted to National Defense Commission deputy chairman at a Supreme People’s Assembly meeting last September. Some are now suggesting a successor may have been located after a long bout of ill health by Choi, with fears about leaving such an important post vacant for so long.

The purge possibility can’t be ruled out completely. Indeed, many analysts continue to see Kim Jong-un’s censure of military political leaders during gunnery exercises last month as a message directed at Choi.

Hwang has reportedly been a trusted confidant of the supreme North Korean leader since the days when Kim Jong-il was in power. The (North) Korean Central News Agency reported Hwang as having been the sole person accompanying Kim during two military unit inspections on Dec. 9, 2005, and May 29, 2006.

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