SEOUL, May 2: North Korea signalled a key leadership change with the announcement today that the man seen as supreme leader Kim Jong-Un’s number two had been replaced as political chief of the military.
In a report on May Day celebrations in Pyongyang, the North’s official KCNA news agency named Hwang Pyong-So as the director of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) General Political Bureau, not Choe Ryong-Hae, who previously held the position.
The post is generally viewed as the second most important in the military after Kim, who is supreme commander.
The leadership change comes amid growing concerns that the North is preparing to conduct a fourth nuclear test in the face of stern international opposition after satellite images showed a recent increase in activity at the country’s main test site.
“To all intents and purposes, this makes Hwang, who also has close personal ties to Kim Jong-Un, the second most powerful man in the country,” said Michael Madden, author and editor of the NK Leadership Watch website.
Hwang’s appointment came just days after KCNA reported his promotion to the rank of vice marshall on April 28 — a rank shared with Choe and just four others.
It was not immediately clear what had become of Choe, who was widely believed to have moved into the role of North Korea’s unofficial number two following the execution in December of Kim’s uncle and political mentor, Jang Song-Thaek.
Choe holds a number of other top positions as a politburo standing committee member and a vice chairman of both the Central Military Commission and the National Defence Commission.
There were multiple reports earlier this year that Choe had been arrested and possibly purged after he dropped from public view for three weeks — an unusually long absence for such a senior figure.
His reappearance in March, alongside Kim, led to speculation that his disappearance might have been due to health problems.
“I don’t think we can say Choe has been purged, but he’s clearly been moved aside, possibly for health or other reasons,” said Yang Moo-Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. (AGENCIES)
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