Yet another North Korean general is killed by the | Excellent! More! Faster! The more generals Pudgy executes, the more the remaining ones will question whether they're next, and act accordingly... |
It fit with the pattern that has emerged since
After all, it happened with Hyon Yong Chol, the defense minister executed by anti-aircraft gun for insubordination and treason. And to Pyon In Son, head of operations in the army, said to have disagreed with Kim. The 33-year-old
This rumor about Ri may well be true. But as with almost everything related to North Korea, very little is clear.
| That didn't stop our intrepid reporter... |
"Even though corruption and factionalism were given as reasons behind his execution, Ri had been considered a man on principle so it is more likely that these reasons were just given to justify his execution," the memo said. "This is another sign of
But the South's spy agency has a history of being wrong about North Korea almost as often as it's right,
| ...so they're like the CIA... |
Ri was "going against the Party's monolithic teachings and monolithic military system" by "exercising privileges and partaking in factional bureaucracy," a source told The Daily NK. He was arrested at a party meeting and dragged out in handcuffs, the site reported.
| 'Factional bureaucracy' sounds like he was setting up his own power center... |
There were also rumors in South Korea that Hwang Pyong So, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean Peoples' Army, had been knocked off at the end of last year after three weeks passed without him putting in an appearance. Then he showed up next to
| They're also food... |
Ri, who has (or had) held a number of top military positions, was ranked number 76 on the national funeral committee formed after Kim Jong Il's death in December 2011, according to Michael Madden's biographical notes on his Web site, North Korea Leadership Watch.
In 2012, Ri delivered a speech at a Korean People's Army rally commemorating the one-year anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il, and the following year accompanied
| Not hard to ride the tiger -- the trick is the dismount... |
What is clear is that the Pyongyang regime is in a state of upheaval ahead of the Congress of the Korean Workers' Party, scheduled for May. It would be the first time such a shin-dig has been held in 36 years, and many of Kim's recent moves -- including the nuclear test and rocket launch -- are considered preparation for the Congress.
"The head of the party congress is going through the files of everybody in senior positions in the government, military or party very closely," Madden said. "This is where someone like Ri Yong Gil could possibly get in trouble. I think that's one of the reasons we've seen a lot of secondary personnel changes too."
What that means is that there is plenty more change in and brinksmanship from North Korea over the next three months, Madden said.