North Korea's elderly comeback kid Choe Ryong-hae is believed to have been demoted again and undergoing reeducation. Rumors had circulated that Choe has been purged since his name was omitted from from the roster of a committee preparing for the funeral of Marshal Ri Ul-sol, who died last Saturday.A source Thursday said Choe (64) was not purged but dismissed from his post as Workers Party secretary. Reeducation is a milder punishment for senior officials who have made "mistakes." As in Maoist China or the Soviet Union, they are sent to collective farms, factories or coal mines so they can reflect on their misconduct.
| "Re-education" means he was shot with rifles instead of with an anti-aircraft gun? |
| Making His Enormity look bad? Yup, that'll get you "re-educated"... |
Choe has been promoted and demoted several times during his high-flying career, surviving probably because he is the son of a revered partisan who fought alongside nation founder Kim Il-sung.