Tag: Choe Ryong-hae

Report Claims There is Internal Infighting Between North Korea’s Senior Leaders

| January 5, 2019

There may be a lot of internal infighting in the White House that has led to a number of personnel changes, but at least no one is being sent to a concentration camp or shot which is what happens with senior leader disputes in North Korea:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un walks into the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to pay tribute to his father, former leader Kim Jong-il, on Dec. 16, the seventh anniversary of his death. Left of Kim is Choe Ryong-hae, director of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party. Right of Kim is Ri Su-yong, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party. Kim Yong-chol, the vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party, can be seen at the far right of the first row. [NORTH KOREA’S KOREAN CENTRAL TV]

Kim Yong-chol visited the White House early last June. Trump provided him with state-of-the-art security, including a number of trained bodyguards and his own Cadillac. Satisfied with the letter from Kim Jong-un’s letter that Kim Yong-chol delivered, Trump went so far as to walk him back to his car to see him off.

A couple of weeks later, Kim’s political profile hit an all-time high during the North-U.S. summit in Singapore, in which he stood next to leader Kim Jong-un. 

According to the source that leaked Kim Yong-chol’s secret meeting with Andrew Kim, “Meeting Pompeo when he visited North Korea and his visit to Singapore with leader Kim were Kim Yong-chol’s way to solidify his position as a negotiator.” This was most likely the reason why he tried to strike a deal with the United States. 

That meeting with Andrew Kim may have been a step too far, and it was only a matter of time before Kim Yong-chol’s request reached the ears of high-ranking North Korean officials, namely Choe Ryong-hae – who is far more frequently described as the second most powerful man in the North. According to an official who recently visited North Korea, “The Workers’ Party is looking into Kim’s recent request and the problematic issues that occurred because of it.” This “looking into” could be interpreted as Choe’s attempt to eliminate or at least curb Kim Yong-chol’s boosted political influence. 

Experts are pointing out how Choe’s recent actions mirror the steps he took to eliminate Hwang Pyong-so, then director of the Army’s General Political Bureau. In October 2017, Choe implemented an internal investigation of Hwang and the political bureau he was in charge of. This investigation uncovered the supposed fact that Hwang disregarded orders and fabricated reports that were sent to Kim Jong-un. Hwang had to step down from his position as second in command and was ordered to spend time in a concentration camp. Experts say Choe was exacting revenge from Hwang, who took his position in 2014. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read much more at the link.

Kim Yo-jong and Choe Ryong-hae Receive Promotions within the North’s Workers’ Party of Korea

| October 9, 2017

Since Kim Jong-un has come to power Choe Ryong-hae has been his point man for handling various foreign visits such as with China, with Russia, and even attending the Rio Summer Olympics.  His loyalty has now been rewarded with a promotion:

Choe Ryong-hae

Choe Ryong-hae, vice chairman of North Korea’s ruling party and known to be one of the closest aides to leader Kim Jong-un, has been picked as a member of the party’s powerful military commission, the North’s state-run media reported Sunday.

Choe, 67, was elected to the Central Military Commission of the North’s Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) during the second plenum of its seventh central committee Saturday in Pyongyang, according to the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Choe is currently one of five standing committee members of WPK’s politburo — which also includes Kim Jong-un, President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly Kim Yong-nam and Hwang Pyong-so, director of the general political bureau of North Korea’s armed forces.

He was once believed to have fallen out of Kim’s favor and punished for mishandling a hydro power plant project in November 2015 but has apparently returned to the party leadership.

The KCNA added that Choe was also appointed a director at the party’s central committee without specifying which division or branch he would head. Saturday’s reshuffle raised the number of Choe’s official roles in the party to eight in total.  [Yonhap]

When Choe fell out of favor he was sent for reeducation at the Kim Il Sung Higher Party School.  South Korean intelligence predicted this was just a minor setback and he would make a political comeback which ended up being accurate.  So why is Choe Ryong-hae so important to Kim Jong-un?  There have been reports that his son is married to Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong.  If so having Choe as a regime inner circle figure makes sense because the inner circle is traditionally limited mostly to the Kim family.

Speaking of Kim Jong-un’s sister, she received a promotion as well:

Kim Yo-jong

In the reshuffle, conducted ahead of the founding anniversary of the party which falls on Oct. 10, Kim’s younger sister, Yo-jong, has also been elected as an alternate member of the WPK central committee’s Political Bureau, according to the report.

Yo-jong, 30, was first elected a member of the Supreme People’s Assembly, the country’s rubber-stamp parliament, in March 2014 and then a member of WPK’s central committee in May last year. She is believed to have been educated in Switzerland along with her brother Kim Jong-un.

All these promotions are showing is that Kim Jong-un is continuing to solidify has political power base with family members he trusts that will stay loyal to him.

Kim Jong-un’s Top Aide Being “Re-Educated”

| November 14, 2015

Since this report is coming from South Korean intelligence sources they tend to actually be pretty reliable.  The real question that hasn’t been answered is why is he being re-educated?:

Choe Ryong-hae

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent his key confidant to the country’s top school for re-education, South Korea’s intelligence officials said Thursday, in an apparent lenient punishment that could set the stage for his political comeback in the coming months, if not years.

“Choe Ryong-hae is receiving education at Kim Il Sung Higher Party School,” an official said, referring to the top institution named after the country’s founder, Kim’s late grandfather.

The school in Pyongyang is the top institution where party officials are trained.

Choe, a senior secretary of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, visited China a couple of times and is widely seen as North Korea’s point man on China.

In 2013, Choe met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing as Kim’s envoy. In September, Choe also visited Beijing for China’s massive military parade.

Choe’s whereabouts have been under the intense spotlight among officials and analysts in South Korea and other regional powers as he was not named as a member of a funeral committee of a senior military official who died last Saturday.

Choe also did not show up for the state funeral ceremony of Ri Ul-sol, marshal of North Korea’s military, who died of lung cancer at the age of 94.

Choe’s conspicuous absence sparked speculation among some analysts that he might have been ousted from the party’s key post.

Still, the South Korean intelligence officials believe that Choe was not purged, though he is undergoing education at the Kim Il Sung Higher Party School for unspecified reasons.  [Yonhap]

You can read the rest at the link.

Did China Snub North Korean Delegate to Military Parade?

| September 5, 2015

Considering that the North Korean leader did not attend the parade I think that his delegate deserved to get the second class status he received from the Chinese:

North Korean Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae watches a military parade in Beijing, marking the seventieth anniversary of China’s war victory over Japan, Sep. 3. Choe was seated far away from President Park Geun-hye, who was seated near the center. (Yonhap News)

The North Korean delegation that attended China’s military parade was headed by Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae.On Sep. 3, Choe was present at the military parade on the parapet of Tiananmen – the Gate of Heavenly Peace – in Beijing. Choe was standing almost at the end of the line of dignitaries, to the right side of Chinese President Xi Jinping. This was a sharp contrast with Park Geun-hye, who was only one person away from Xi.There is speculation that China‘s decision to position the North Korean envoy toward the end of the line of dignitaries reflects China’s relations with North Korea, which have been chilly in recent years.Another interpretation is that China placed Choe at some distance from Park out of consideration for the South Korean president.But it‘s also possible that, considering that Choe was just an envoy, and not the leader of North Korea, his position on the parapet should not necessarily be seen as a snub. When China announced on Aug. 25 the figures who would be attending its ceremony commemorating the victory over Japan in World War II, its inclusion of Choe in a list of 30 national leaders including Park and Russian President Vladimir Putin was regarded as a sign of respect.  [Hankyoreh]

Also unsurprisingly is that the North Korean state media did not report President Park Geun-hye’s attendance at the military parade where she received the VIP treatment.