North Korean House of Cards

Jong-il, such as Ri Su-yong (Ri Chol) 172 and Kim Jang-son. 173 While these speculations
proved to be false, it spoke to the rumor mill that was aimed not at the senior
leadership, but at members of the second echelon. Finally, several North Korean
ambassadors with ties to Jang were recalled and relieved of their posts, including:
Jang Yong-chol, Jang Song-taek’s nephew and the Ambassador to Malaysia; Jon
Yong-Jin, Jang Song-taek’s brother-in-law and Ambassador to Cuba; Pak Kwang-chol,
the Ambassador to Sweden; and Hong Yong, North Korea’s Deputy Permanent
Delegate to United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO). Subsequent reporting told of their families being sent to prison camps.
Of those who appeared to be rising within the informal ranks, the military
officers were most visible. At a meeting of KPA security personnel in November
2012, the month before Jang was officially purged, Kim Jong-un was surrounded
by six men on the leadership rostrum: Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae; General
Kim Won-hong; Major General Ryom Chol-song, reportedly Vice Director of
the GPB; Lieutenant General Jo Kyong-chol, the Commander of the MSC;
Lieutenant General Kim Su-gil, Vice Minister of the People’s Armed Forces; and
Hwang Pyong-so, the Vice Director of the KWP OGD. 174 This reflects where Kim
Jong-un’s critical networks within the military lie. They are within those parts of
the apparatus dedicated to surveillance, internal security, and propagation of the
monolithic leadership model of regime maintenance.
Two weeks later, Kim Jong-un paid a special visit to the Kumsusan Palace
to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of Kim Jong-il’s appointment as Supreme
Commander, accompanied by the leaders of the high command. In addition to
some long-standing military leaders, such as Kim Jong-gak, Kim Yong-chol, and O
Kum-chol, rising stars were also on full display: General Ri Yong-gil, Chief of the
GSD; General Jang Jong-nam, Minister of the People’s Armed Forces; Pyon In-son,
172 Koo Jun-Hoe, “Mainichi Shimbun: Ri Su Yong Executed,” Daily NK, December 11, 2013.
Ri Su-yong was appointed North Korea’s Ambassador to Switzerland in 1988 and was guardian to the
young Kim Jong-un during his period of overseas study. He is thought to have handled around $4 billion
of Kim Jong-il’s hidden funds under the assumed name Ri Chol. After returning to North Korea in 2010,
Ri took orders from Jang and was charged with attracting foreign capital as the Head of the Joint Venture
and Investment Commission. According to reports in December 2013, he was executed. This was later
proved wrong as Ri was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs.
173 There was speculation in South Korean media that Kim Jang-son, the Director of the NDC
Secretariat, may have been purged. Although he was one of Kim Jong-un’s gatekeepers, he had not been
observed in the public media since late November 2013. His ties with Jang Song-taek and Kim Kyonghui
go back to the 1970s. He later made an appearance in 2014, suggesting that he may have been sent
off for re-education, but not purged.
174 “Second Meeting of Security Personnel of KPA Held,” KCNA, November 20, 2013. The
meeting of the military intelligence officials was held abruptly for the first time in two decades. It is
assumed by many Pyongyang-watchers to have been a prelude to the Jang purge.
Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
68