Kim Jong-un's great purge against his father's men

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2013-12-16

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, Dec. 9. (Photo/Xinhua)

In a bid to soldify his position, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has purged around half of the senior officials within the government who had close ties with his father, Kim Jong-il, according to the Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao.

In the most recent example, Jang Sung-thaek, Kim's uncle-in-law and mentor, was removed from his position as vice chairman of the country's National Defense Commission on Dec. 8 and later executed on Dec. 13.

Speculation over the move has been rife, with rumors circulating over the different reasons behind Jang's purge from power. According to North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, Jang was found guilty of treason for "anti-party and counter- revolutionary crime" and was executed due to "evidence of corruption, drug use and improper relations with several women."

However, Ta Kung Pao reported that Jang was purged due to his attempts to set up his own political faction against Kim Jong-un, which would have been a significant threat as factionalism is an act of treason against Kim's one-man rule. Through executing his aunt's husband, Kim is sending a strong warning to all major political figures in the regime, not matter how high their position, to never think of opposing him.

Kim has also demonstrated that he will forge ahead without the advice from men his father once trusted. Jang was appointed by Kim Jong-il to be Kim Jong-un's mentor, and was once the second most important figure in the country. Through getting rid of Jang, Kim Jong-un will eventually be able to establish his own outlook for North Korea, with Ta Kung Pao stating that nearly half of the 200 senior officials in Pyongyang have been purged in Kim Jong-un's bid to succeed power from his father.

There are some within the regime that remain despite their previous ties to Kim Jong-il. For example, Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, the director of the General Political Department of the Korean People's Army. Choe, was nominated as director of the General Political Department due to his father, Choe Hyo'n's relationship with Kim Il-sung, the founder of Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the grandfather of Kim Jong-un.

He was later chosen by Kim Jong-il to solidify his son's position within the Korean People's Army after his death. Choe Ryong-hae is extremely loyal to Kim Jong-un and remains a key part of the regime, the paper said.

Meanwhile, nearly 20,000 people in North Korea have been affected by the recent purge of Jang Sung-thaek. Liu Ming from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences told the BBC that the future of China's economic cooperation with North Korea is in jeopardy as Jang had developed very close ties with Beijing when Kim Jong-il was still alive.

Kim Kyong-hui, center, attends a function as a general

of the Korean People's Army. (Internet photo)

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