[imText1]Recently in North Korea, some signs indicating the reemergence of the “Three Revolution Teams,” (TRT) which was the main support group in the Party for Kim Jong Il for two decades from 1972 to 1994, call for much attention.
May 6, North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, “The members of the three revolutionary teams successfully completed about 1800 technical activities in the past four years.”
The TRT is an organization that played an important role for Kim Jong Il’s expansion of power in the Party since the early 1970s, as Kim Jong Il’s succession was assured. It has been known that after Kim Il Sung ordered Kim Jong Il for the establishment of the TRT in 1972, the TRT played an important role in expanding and securing Kim Jong Il’s support group in the Party. Kim Jong Il was only thirty years old at the time.
TRT Coincides with the Support Group for Chang Sung Taek
Although the TRT was active in the 1980s when Kim Jong Il’s power settled down up until the early 1990s, it disappeared after that.
Then last April, with the KCNA report “the Three Revolutionary Teams have been sent to the people’s economy sector and are successfully making great technical progress” its existence was known to the North Korean society. This year’s report reassured of its existence and raised many doubts about its background.
Especially relating to the recent rumor about the former Department 1 Secretary of the Central Party, Chang Sung Taek’s return to the seat, who is also known to be purged last year, the TRT reappeared coincidentally at the right timing. Some assume this may be the part of Kim Jong Il’s plan to reappoint Chang Sung Taek.
Chang Sung Taek has also secured the support group from the young people for Kim Jong Il as the Secretary of the Youth and Thee Revolutionary Teams from 1989 to 1992. Kim Jong Il’s support groups and Chang Sung Taek’s power group somewhat overlaps.
Furthermore with regards to the successor problem after Kim Jong Il, many predict that the TRT will once again play an important role in building and security the successor’s support group.
Chang Sung Jang, researcher at the inter-Korean relations department of Sejong Institute asserted in the October edition of “Current Situation and Policy” that “North Korea is currently preparing for the decision of the next successor.” As one of the evidences, he finger pointed on “the revival of the Three Revolutionary Teams which remained inactive since the mid 1990s.”
Too Many Compliments on the TRT
There have been two recent reports on TRT by the North Korean broadcaster, one in April and another one in May. In the report last year, it revealed specific activities of the TRT, “(TRT) works at various factories, state owned enterprises, and cooperative farms that represent the nation, including Pyonayang Chemical Development Cooperative State Enterprise, Chunrima Steel Manufacturing State Enterprise, Ryongsung Machinery Cooperative State Enterprise, Ranam Mining Machinery Cooperative State Enterprise, 10.30 Factory, Pyongyang and Shinuiju Cosmetic Factory.”
This year, it reported, “For the past four years, (TRT) successfully completed about 1800 technical innovation.” Here, it is notable that the report said “for the past four years.” It is also interesting that it further reported, “During this period, 3,320 members received various kinds of scientific technical certificates and hundreds of them had honor of receiving national awards.”
If 3,320 members received various kind of scientific technical certificates, then it means that there are many more than that number. It is unusual that nobody in North Korea about TRT which has thousands of members.
Therefore it leads us to make some assumptions such as ▲in reality, the TRT was “invented” by the North Korean government for the strengthening of nationalism and ▲TRT existed all along but was only active silently, so was not known to the people.
TRT as the Kim Jong Il’s Bodyguards for the Past Two Decades
Also known as the “North Korean Version of the Red Guards,” the TRT was organized as the Party’s bodyguards for Kim Jong Il’s power expansion. Mainly composed of the young people including graduating university students, students of the Kim Il Sung High Class Party School, newly graduated technicians and administrative workers. Twenty to fifty members were sent to main government offices such as state enterprise and cooperative farms.
The official purpose was for the TRT to check whether revolutions on ideology, techniques, and culture, which is called the Three Revolutions, are carried out well across the nation. However, the real purpose is to trace down plots against Kim Jong Il in each unit of the national agencies and directly report to Kim Jong Il, in order to make all the department and agencies to be loyal to Kim Jong Il.
Kim Jong Il called the members of the TRT as the “Special agents sent from the Party” and gave them a considerable amount of power and authority. The proud members went around the nation and tracked down every plots gainst the Party and reported them back.
However, as the support group for Kim Jong Il stabilized, the TRT actually started to become the symbol of corruption and manipulation. Because basic production materials and equipments are always on short, in order to meet the production goal set by the Party, the workers always has to find illegal ways to reach their goals. They have to bribe other government departments and bring materials from outside or make false reports.
There was enough of outcries about such a problem among the people and the TRT which had already grew too big in size, evaporated in silence in the end of 1994.
