North Korean House of Cards

Committee list.At the Third Session of the 13th SPA in April 2015,
Pak To-chun was removed from the National Defense Commission and
replaced by Kim Chun-sop. Although North Korean media said that
Pak had been recalled due to his transfer to another post, it is not clear
whether he will remain in the pantheon of North Korean leaders. 684
• Kim Kyong-ok has been a member of the CMC since 2010 and is
a First Vice Director of the KWP OGD. 685 He began to appear in
North Korean media in the months after Kim Jong-il’s stroke and his
rise has been tied to that of Kim Jong-un. 686 He was promoted to full
general on September 28, 2010, as shown on the promotion list, along
with Kim Jong-un, Kim Kyong-hui, and Choe Ryong-hae. In July
2011, Kim Kyong-ok was part of a small entourage that accompanied
Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un on a field inspection of KPA Unit
963 (headquarters of the Guard Command), which provides close
protection, security, and logistical services for the Kim family and the
central leadership. 687 This is an indication that Kim Kyong-ok has ties
to internal security within the regime. He is also rumored to hold the
position within the OGD for military and security affairs. His ties to
Kim Jong-un reportedly run through Kim Sol-song. 688 He was ranked
32nd on Jon Pyong-ho’s Funeral Committee list.
684 KCNA, April 9, 2015.
685 Nicolas Levi, “Kim Kyong Ok and Ri Pyong-chol are dead?,” Elites et économie de la Corée du
Nord, November 3, 2014. In the fall of 2014, rumors began to appear in defector-run media that Kim
Kyong-ok and several of his aides had been arrested and possibly executed. Kim Kyong-ok was last seen
in public as part of a documentary on North Korean television in May 2014. His name was mentioned
on the Funeral Committee list for Jon Pyong-ho in June 2014. Some of the speculation identified Choe
Ryong-hae as leading the purge. NKSIS speculated that Kim Jong-un was eager to eliminate people closely
associated to Jang Song-taek’s purge. Other Pyongyang-watchers, such as Nicolas Levi, were skeptical
of the reporting and urged caution. On October 10, 2014, Uriminzokkiri, the state-controlled website
providing Korean language news, released a photograph of high-ranking officials visiting the Memorial
of the Founding of the KWP. Kim Kyong-ok appeared in the photograph as part of the delegation of
officials, which suggests that reports of his purge may have been premature. However, Kim Kyong-ok has
not been seen in public since December 2014, and recent rumors are that he retired for “health reasons.”
“How Kim Jong Un Gets Rid Of Threats To His Power,” The Chosun Ilbo, May 18, 2015.
686 However, Kim Kyong-ok’s ties to the Kim family mostly ran through Ko Yong-hui, who
approached him to help lay the foundation for the succession of one of her sons. When she died, Kim
Kyong-ok’s ties to Kim Jong-un reportedly began to grow.
687 Interview with a senior defector in Seoul, May 2014.
688 Ibid. According to some rumors, Kim Sol-song is married to Kim Kyong-ok. Other sources
contend that she is married to Sin Pok-nam, a senior Party official, who played a central role in purging
Jang Song-taek and is now spearheading the reform of the Party.
Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
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