The execution of Jang
Song Taek in mid December signalled the purging of
his family and close associates, a purge that has now extended into the military
sphere, Daily NK sources confirm. Military units are shifting en masse away from older officers who might not harbor absolute loyalty to the current leader. In units with close links to Jang, commanders face execution and their units complete dissolution.
A source in South
Pyongan Province told Daily NK on the 4th, “The investigation into Jang’s
associates has widened into the military. Soldiers are facing punishment, and
in serious cases some are even being executed. The core of the investigation
is those in the military with ties to Jang, but they are also replacing older
cadres who have been in post for a long time.”
“It would be a mistake
to presume that because Jang Song Taek was mostly engaged in foreign
currency-earning activities that he didn’t maintain ties with the military,” the
source explained. “The military carries out its own foreign
currency earning activities and would have been both directly and indirectly
connected to Jang. That’s what the authorities are looking for.”
The source revealed in
particular the case of “Unit 570,” which has undergone “Urakkai,” a Japanese
word used in North Korea to mean complete and absolute change. The unit
commander has been executed and all enlisted men either punished or transferred to other
units, it is alleged.
The source believes that
the dramatic shakeup occurred after it became known that the now-executed
commander of Unit 570 was a long-time associate of Jang Song Taek.
“Unit 570 is a
guerrilla warfare unit, and as such has to import large quantities of equipment from
abroad,” the source explained. “A great number of foreign currency enterprises
are affiliated with it, and Jang Song Taek oversaw their operations with
China. He would have ordered one of his men to oversee that particular unit.”
“It’s not clear where the
unit has gone, but it is now comprised of new soldiers from elsewhere. Not
a lot is known about what happened,” he added. “The regime
is no longer summoning Jang’s former accomplices to Pyongyang and punishing
them there, preferring to quietly carry out its executions in the countryside.”
“According to news trickling
out of the unit, all senior officers were called in separately and
harshly questioned during a mass rally that took place in Pyongyang late last year. They
were taken into custody after the rally finished,” the source went on.
While the source said
that other units are also under close scrutiny and face punishment following the Jang
execution, Unit 570, which is based in Maengsan in northeast South Pyongan Province, is special
in that it is a special operations force tasked with preparing for guerrilla
warfare on the streets of Seoul in the event of a second Korean War. For
this reason, the unit receives more tools and equipment
than many others.
Elsewhere, a second
source from Sinuiju in North Pyongan Province told Daily NK about his
understanding of the military unit purge process. “Since Jang Song Taek’s
execution, a great many of the captains and commanders of units
under the 8th Army Corps have been replaced. They’re not just replacing
Jang’s people; they are also getting rid of all the older commanders.”
“Sweeping personnel
changes are also taking place within units of the 5th Army Corps. Kim Jong Eun
is promoting fresh faces who will be loyal to him,” the same source also alleged. “But
the replacement of all these officers is one reason why they haven’t been able
to implement combined training exercises during this year’s winter drills.”
