North Korean House of Cards

UFD’s mission has been marginalized. In October 2014, however, he
was part of a three-person delegation, along with Choe Ryong-hae and
Hwang Pyong-so, that visited Seoul in an effort to restart inter-Korean
relations. His profile continued to rise in August 2015, when he
accompanied Hwang Pyong-so to Panmunjon to conduct negotiations
with South Korea following an exchange of artillery fire across the
DMZ. He then appeared on North Korean television discussing the
talks. 661 Soon after the talks, the North Korean media referred to Kim
Yang-gon as a full member of the Politburo. 662 Kim allegedly heads a
task force that works on policy towards South Korea. This task force
presumably includes representatives from the North Korean committees
that make pronouncements on inter-Korean affairs. Examples include:
the Committee on the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland
(CPRF), which is responsible for government-to-government issues;
the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland (DFRF),
which is responsible for Party interests in inter-Korean affairs; and the
National Reconciliation Council (NRC), which deals with inter-Korean
humanitarian and nongovernmental organization issues. He was
ranked sixteenth on both Kim Kuk-tae’s and Jon Pyong-ho’s Funeral
Committee lists.
• Jo Yon-jun (76) has been an alternate member of the Politburo since
2012 and is First Vice Director of the KWP OGD, where he handles
political and economic issues. He first appeared in North Korean
media in 2003 and received the Order of Kim Jong-il in 2012. In the
past, Jo’s influence may have come through one of the regents, such
as Kim Kyong-hui. He gave a speech at the enlarged meeting of the
Politburo when Jang was purged from the Party. His relationship with
Kim Jong-un is now likely more direct and he is considered by some
Pyongyang-watchers to be one of Kim’s key allies within the OGD. 663
He was ranked 24th on Kim Kuk-tae’s Funeral Committee list and
22nd on Jon Pyong-ho’s Funeral Committee list.
661 This interview was highly unusual. The North Korean media rarely carries interviews with
leaders of Kim Yang-gon’s rank.
662 On August 22, 2015, KCBS referred to Kim Yang-gon as a member of the Workers’ Party of
Korea Central Committee Political Bureau. In February 2013, Pyongyang radio had referred to him as an
“alternate member of the WPK CC Political Bureau.”
663 This relationship is explored in more detail in the chapter on Kim Jong-un’s Personal Secretariat.
Ken E. Gause
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