Thursday, May 14, 2020

Another Purge In North Korea?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (KCNA-Yonhap)

The Korea Herald: North replaces head of spy agency, Kim Jong-un’s bodyguard: ministry

North Korea is believed to have replaced the head of the country’s main intelligence agency and the Supreme Guard commander, who is in charge of protecting its leader Kim Jong-un and his family.

Lt. General Rim Kwang-il was promoted as the director of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, replacing Jang Kil-song last December, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry on Wednesday, in its annual publication of the country’s key figures.

North’s RGB is known to be behind some of the most high-profile attacks, espionage, clandestine operations and cyber warfare the regime has carried out against, mostly, South Korea, Japan and the US. Seoul believes the spy agency orchestrated the 2010 torpedoing of South Korean naval vessel Cheonan, in which 46 sailors were killed. At the time, Kim Yong-chol, hard-line military general and former NK nuclear envoy, was heading the agency since its initiation in 2009.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: It looks like Kim Jong-un has disappeared again .... Kim Jong Un May Be Back at Resort As North Korea Claims to Keep Coronavirus Away (Newsweek).

More News On The Removal Of North Korea's Spy chief And Head Of Kim Jong Un's Security Detachment

N. Korea presumed to have replaced chief of military intelligence bureau -- Yonhap News Agency
North Korea ousts spy chief, head of Kim Jong Un’s security: report -- New York Post
Report: North Korea replaced military intelligence chief, Supreme Guard commander -- UPI
North Korea recently appointed new military intelligence chief, South Korea says -- NK News

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I despise the terms human capital and human resources, but I'll use the former now.

If you periodically purge people are you building your human capital as fast as you could be?
Sure you can reach certain technical or production peaks but there may not be any broad technical advance. Since fields often cross fertilize each other, having a strong man, oligarchs or some such coterie pick winners and losers is more deleterious than beneficial.

The Russian may have lagged behind the Americans in overall broad spectrum technical effort before the fall of the Berlin Wall, but it does not mean that Russians are incapable or dumb. God help you, if you are in a class with them in a free university.

Does it ever cross Kim Jong Un's mind?

Anonymous said...

A delegation from a foreign country just visited Kim. What country was this delegation from?