North Korea Marshals Fun
By Evan Ramstad
July 19, 2012, 12:37 PM KST
KCNA via Reuters
North Korean soldiers dance in a plaza outside an auditorium in Pyongyang Wednesday where a celebration was held to honor dictator Kim Jong Eun for getting the title of marshal. Photo by KCNA photographer distributed internationally by Reuters.
North Korea revved up the propaganda machine after the shake-up at the top of its military this week. Message: the military is happy with Kim Jong Eun.
After capping three days of announcements about military leadership with the news Wednesday that Mr. Kim had been given the new rank of marshal –- and even calling attention to that with a “big news is coming” report — Pyongyang ordered up a meeting of the military brass and dancing on the streets.
News photographers for the Korea Central News Agency and Associated Press produced pictures of shiny, happy soldiers laughing.
Shortly before the dancing, they captured hundreds of officers applauding the speeches that the military’s top brass gave in praise of Mr. Kim.
KCNA, in its account of the meeting, revealed that the newly-appointed Vice Marshal Hyon Yong Chol had also taken the title of chief of the general staff. That clarifies some ambiguity about whether he was the direct replacement of Ri Yong Ho, the former chief of the general staff whose ouster was announced on Monday.
North Korea attributed Mr. Ri’s departure to illness, though few outside observers buy that. The rapid series of events suggests Mr. Kim has tamped down some type of turmoil inside the military and that senior leaders have come into line.
Associated Press
Hyon Yong Chol, whose appointment as vice marshal was announced on Tuesday, takes the stage at an event announcing that dictator Kim Jong Eun was given the new military rank of marshal. The event also represented the little-known Mr. Hyon’s public coming out in North Korea.
Mr. Hyon spoke at the meeting. And the KCNA English-language account gave the most details about his speech that “offered the highest glory and the warmest congratulations to the respected supreme commander.”
Analysts who are trying to determine whether this week’s actions in North Korea signal a shift in the power balance between the military and the ruling Workers’ Party are likely to zone in on this quote that KCNA attributed to Mr. Hyon:
“We will make ceaseless innovations in the construction of major projects for building a thriving nation and improving the standard of people’s living and take the lead in implementing the WPK’s intention to provide the people with a happy life under socialism, bearing in mind Kim Jong Il’s patriotism.”
WPK is an abbreviation for Workers’ Party of Korea. North Korea’s military, estimated to be around 1 million people who are conscripted for 10 years, is responsible for more than just the defense of the nation. It also handles major construction and infrastructure projects.
That quote suggests Mr. Hyon’s military will be more focused on improving the North Korean economy than menacing South Korea. But KCNA also noted Mr. Hyon’s call “to reunify the country and achieve the final victory,” North-speak for placing the South under the North’s control.
Associated Press
Kim Jong Gum, a 19 year-old student of Kang Pan Sok Revolutionary School, poses for the camera amid the dancing in Pyongyang on Wednesday. Photo by AP’s North Korea photographer.
Source: blogs.wsj.com
oldmarine
