The defection of one of North Korea’s highest-ranking diplomats to South Korea has stirred up concerns about a sweeping purge by the Kim Jong Un leadership, which may seek all-out revenge against its Deputy Ambassador to the UK Thae Yong Ho and his wife O Hye Son. The two are both from the North’s core “guerrilla partisan” elite, considered the highest-ranking families in social class since the founding of the country. Some observers have expressed concerns that Kim Jong Un’s fearpolitik could manifest as a “bloodbath” against family members with ties to the elite couple still in North Korea.
Kim Jong Un has in the past put the North’s draconian guilt of association into practice when purging high-level cadres, often meting out brutal punishments. The leader’s outrage about Thae’s defection is expected to be explosive, increasing the likelihood for Kim to call for strong measures of accountability.
“Kim Jong Un is said to have tempered his punishments of guilt by association against defector family members recently, but Thae Yong Ho is no average resident. He was a deputy ambassador representing the country,” a former North Korean high-level military cadre member who escaped to the South told Daily NK. “There is the possibility he will purge not only all of the immediate family but relatives as well.”
He added, “Kim Jong Un has always been on edge about high-level officials overseas defecting because of the reality they face under global sanctions, so Thae Yong Ho seeking asylum above all things would have been a shock. This is why there’s a high chance their families will receive strong punishments to set an example so that other diplomats and high-level cadres aren’t influenced by Thae’s asylum.”
However, a blanket purge against Thae’s family and relatives could result in blowback against the regime. Those connected to the anti-Japanese partisan revolutionary line, which is only superseded in importance by the “Mt. Paektu line” of the Kim family itself, hold key positions within the leadership; a sudden sweep-out would leave gaping vacuums of power. Thae Yong Ho’s brother Thae Hyong Chol is currently a Party Central Committee member and the president of Kim Il Sung University, while O Kum Chol, vice chief of the Korean People’s Army General Staff, is a member of O Hye Son’s family, to name a few.
“These ‘guerrilla partisan’ groups occupy core posts within the North, so it would be hard for Kim Jong Un to carry out a purge against them all just because they’re related to Thae Yong Ho,” Cho Han Bum, a senior research fellow at Korea Institute for National Unification said. “There may be some punishments to hold people accountable, but it’s difficult to imagine something like this so-called “bloodbath.’”
Cho added that a misstep on Kim Jong Un’s end in dealing with the “guerrilla partisan” generation could have the reverse effect and accelerate splintering within the leadership. “The ‘guerrilla partisan’ bloodline is stronger than people realize, and the possibility of this contingent rising up against Kim Jong Un in the most extreme of situations cannot be ruled out,” he surmised.
Kim Kwang In, director of Korea Advancement Association also said, “The relatives won’t be left completely untouched, but it’s hard to imagine it becoming a full-on purge. Kim Jong Un won’t be able to ignore the symbolism that ‘guerrilla partisan’ groups have.” Kim added that whatever measures are carried out they will not likely be made public, as news of Thae’s defection may incite additional escapes if the general public is made aware of it.
