North Korean House of Cards

General Pak as his successor without naming him. Pak Yong-sik’s media
profile began in 1999 when he was promoted to major general. Ten years
later, he was promoted to lieutenant general. In 2013, he was identified
as a political functionary with KPA Large Combined Unit 966. In March
2014, he was elected as a deputy to the 13th SPA and in April, he began
accompanying Kim Jong-un on guidance inspections as a colonel general.
In April 2015, he was made a vice director of the GPB and was promoted
to four-star general in May. Rumors began to spread that Pak was the
new Minister of the People’s Armed Forces in June 2015 when his name
appeared second in the cohort list for Kim Jong-un’s viewing of a KPA
performance after Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong-so (GPB) and before
General Ri Yong-gil (GSD). 717 On July 11, 2015, the North Korean
media referenced Pak as the MPA. 718 Although he is a ranking member
of the high command, General Pak’s ties to and communication
channel with Kim Jong-un are unknown.
• Colonel General Ro Kwang-chol is First Vice Minister of the People’s
Armed Forces. He first appeared in the North Korean media as a speaker
at a rally congratulating the successful satellite launch in December
2012. He next appeared a year later when he was identified as one of
the senior officers leading a loyalty pledge to Kim Jong-un. He accompanied
Choe Ryong-hae on his trip to Russia in November 2014 and
was ranked 58th on Jon Pyong-ho’s Funeral Committee list. He began
to attend guidance inspections with Kim Jong-un in 2015 and has been
a part of several North Korean delegations in military-to-military talks
with other countries. Whether he has achieved unfettered access to
the Supreme Leader or must still go through the chain of command is
currently unclear.
• Vice Admiral Ri Yong-chu is the Commander of the KPA Navy. He
replaced Kim Myong-sik in April 2015. 719 Before his latest appointment,
Ri was a vice chief of the GSD. He was also a delegate to the
717 A Pak Yong-sik was listed 45th on Jon Pyong-ho’s Funeral Committee list. However, that
person appears to be tied to the security apparatus, not the military.
718 It took two and a half months between the rumors of Hyon Yong-chol’s purge and the
confirmation of Pak Yong-sik as the Minister of the People’s Armed Forces. This is unusual for the reporting
pattern under Kim Jong-un in which ministers of the MPAF have normally been identified within
three weeks of their appointments.
719 “DPRK Media Identify Ri Yong-chu as KPA Navy Commander 4 April,” KCBS, April 7,
2015. Vice Admiral Ri Yong-chu replaced Colonel General Kim Myong-su. Kim Myong-su had been the
KPAN Commander since 2013, but has not been seen in public since January 2015. According to some
sources, he was purged.
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