The “National Defense Committee Inspections,” which began on April 20th mostly around Chongjin City in North Hamkyung Province left off for a reason of “farm supporting period” in mid-May. An observation has been proposed that the sudden evacuation of all inspectors from Chongjin is not due to the “farm supporting period, but due to “Kim Jong Cheol’s absence in leadership.
It has been relayed that Kim Jong Cheol, while staying in Chongjin since last March, led the “National Security Agency inspections” and the “Party inspections,” including the “anti-Socialist group inspections,” and around April 20th, led the “National Defense Commission Inspections.” Each kind of inspections was executed by different members, but all overseen by Kim Jong Cheol.
The “anti-socialist group inspections” and the “Party inspections,” which have mostly been taking place in the border region cities with a focus in Chongjin, North Hamkyung Province and Shinuiju in North Pyongan Province, have been led by Kim Jong Cheol (27), Kim Jong Il’s eldest son who is being considered as a successor, and Jang Sung Taek (63), the Great Leader’s brother-in-law and Director of the Ministry of Administration.
A source said in a phone conversation with the Daily NK on the 4th, “Due to the worsening in public sentiment in North Hamkyung Province as a result of the recent successive inspections, all inspectors have been evacuated. There was serious criticism from the top (Kim Jong Il) of those in charge of the inspections.
“Kim Jong Il puts Kim Jong Cheol in charge of the North Hamkyung Inspections and Jang Sung Taek in charge of the North Pyongan Inspections”
The reason for putting the two people in charge of the inspections stems efforts to incite rivalry among the two and to give Director Jang another opportunity to express his devotion as well as to compensate him for the suffering he endured through “job deprivation” in 2005.
In particular, for Kim Jong Cheol, who is being considered as Kim Jong Il’s leading successor, this seems to be an opportunity for on-site training and testing his leadership and insight.
However, the source remarked that Kim Jong Cheol could not perform according to Kim Jong Il’s expectations.
Another source said, “Jang has focused on exposing corruption, but Jong Cheol has mainly concentrated on instilling social disciplines. Jang’s actions have garnered support from the citizens, but Jong Cheol has only received complaints.”
The source said, “The citizens in North Hamkyung Province have suffered a lot as a result of the inspections. Jong Cheol has received special counsels from the above (Kim Jong Il) several times, but the situation has become worse over time.”
“Kim Jong Cheol criticized as being a novice, an incapable person”
He also said, “Many people thought he lacked experience, but due to the recent inspections, many people harbor disappointment towards Kim Jong Cheol. His leadership seems to be rather weak.”
The source relayed that Kim Jong Cheol has been marked as “yet a novice” and an “incapable person” although the high-ranking officials of the province have been hesitant to say so openly.
Regarding the evacuation of the inspection group, the fact that the person in charge of the inspections is related to Kim Jong Il has aggravated civilian sentiment even further. The story has been circulating that the evacuation of Kim Jong Cheol resulted from the recognition that civilian sentiment in North Hamkyung Province could quickly spread into criticism.”
The citizens cannot know the identity of the persons in charge of the inspections, including the anti-socialist inspections. However, with the increase in interest, along with the worsening civilian sentiment in North Hamkyung Province, Kim Jong Cheol’s name was brought up. Subsequently, Kim Jong Il immediately evacuated Kim Jong Cheol in order to prevent the slandering of a future successor.
Simultaneously, due to Kim Jong Cheol’s leadership of the inspections, the high-level officials in the North Hamkyung Province apparently became more interested in him. However, when Kim’s lack of leadership was confirmed, huge disappointment regarding the next leader seems to have grown.
The source said, “Kim Jong Cheol has strengthened internal regulations, striving to control law and order in North Hamkyung Province. This ultimately brought about internal criticism from Kim Jong Il on several occasions for incurring complex problems in contrast to Jang Sung Taek, who is in charge of the Shinuiju side.”
“Insisting on maintaining law and order without even knowing the circumstances came as a big shock to the people who do not have anything to eat. This, rather than settling civilian sentiment, only fueled their anger.”
