North Korean House of Cards

Korea’s most lucrative exports—clams, crabs, and coal. 146, 147 Kim Jong-un ordered
North Korean military forces to retake control of the seafood farms, one of the sources
of these exports, that Jang Song-taek had seized from the military when he became
Vice Chairman of the NDC. In the battle for control of the farms, the emaciated,
poorly trained North Korean forces were beaten badly by Jang’s loyalists. When Kim
learned of the rout, he was outraged that his orders were ignored by the Fisheries
Office responsible for these resources, presumably acting on orders from Ri Ryong-ha
and Jang Su-gil. Kim Jong-un sent more soldiers to the area, who enforced his will.
Image 7: Ri Ryong-ha (left) and Jang Su-gil (right) are reported to have been publicly executed in
November 2013 as part of a purge of political figures close to Jang Song-taek.
(Source: KCNA/KCTV/NKLW file photos)
In mid-November, a joint SSD-Guard Command task force placed Ri
Ryong-ha and Jang Su-gil under arrest. 148 At this time, the OGD informed Jang
Song-taek that he was confined to his home, essentially placing him under house
arrest. According to later reports, Jang apparently tried to contact Kim Jong-un,
146 “N. Korea purge sparked by mineral disputes: Seoul official,” AFP, December 23, 2013. In
a testimony to the South Korean National Assembly, the Director of the NIS, Nam Jae-Joon, explained
that “Jang intervened too much in lucrative state businesses...related to coal, which drew mounting
complaints from other (related) state bodies…Kim Jong-Un was briefed about it... and issued orders to
correct the situation. But many officials loyal to Jang [Ri Ryong-ha and Jang Su-gil] did not immediately
accept his orders [saying they first needed to check with Jang Song-taek], which eventually led an angry
Kim to launch a sweeping purge.”
147 Choe Sang-Hun and David E. Sanger, “Korea Execution is Tied to Clash Over Businesses,”
The New York Times, December 23, 2013.
148 Some sources report the specific date as November 18, 2013.
Ken E. Gause
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