Hawkish N. Korean general could assume secretary for inter-Korean relations

Power within North Korea’s ruing Workers’ Party is in swings after the Stalinist country’s fourth nuclear test. The sudden rise of Kim Yong Chol, chief of the North's general reconnaissance bureau who is known as the successor of the late Kim Yang Gon, the director of the United Front Department who suddenly died in a car accident, is expected to affect the North’s strategy for South Korea and other foreign countries. Kim Yong Chol reportedly rose to the position of secretary for South Korea relations at the Workers’ Party. A source at the South Korean intelligence agency said, “We need to confirm it‎, but it could be possible.”

An informed source on North Korea affairs in the South said on Wednesday, “If North Korean leader Kim Jong Un named Kim Yong Chol, who is known as a hardliner in the military, as the director who leads relations with the South, the map of ‘Kim Jong Un’s strategy for South Korea’ could also change going forward. The source thus indicated that the North will more likely stage offensives over political and military issues including the South’s raising of issue with the North’s human rights violation, and South Korea-U.S. joint military drills.

Since Kim Yong Chol’s sudden rise, rumors that Kim Yang Gon’s death on December 29 was due to suspected assassination are also spreading anew. “Rumors are in circulation in the North that Kim Won Hong, head of the State Security Department, got rid of (assassinated) Kim Yong Gon,” said Goh Young-whan, vice director of the Institute for National Security Strategy under South Korea’s National Intelligence Service. “Kim Won Hong, power elite and close aide to Kim Jong Un, could have killed Kim Yang Gon who was expanding roles to effectively serve as the prime minister and director in charge of inter-Korean relations to keep Kim Yang Gon in check.”

According to the North’s official Rodong Sinmun on Wednesday, Choe Ryong Hae, secretary of the Workers’ Party, followed Kim Jong Un for the first time since he had his rights reinstated, while Kim Jong Un’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, also accompanied the North Korean leader for the first time in three months. Analysts say that Kim Jong Un is believed to have started reorganization of its close aides and confidants after the latest nuclear test.

윤완준기자 zeitung@donga.com