On the heels of a report by South Korea\u2019s
\nNational Intelligence Service [NIS] on May 13th that North Korea\u2019s minister of
\nthe People\u2019s Armed Forces (MPAF), Hyon Yong Chol, had been executed for
\ndisloyalty, Daily NK\u2019s sources within the country reported reference to Hyon\u2019s
\nexecution during a political lecture for military officers stationed along the
\nSino-North Korea border, held at the beginning of this month. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe lecture, delivered by political The \u201cKim Chang Bong incident\u201d refers to Kim No specifics about the execution method or As one might expect, ideological sessions to deter News of this incident as a link in a Party cadres \u201chearts pump wildly,\u201d as the \u201cThey say that they\u2019d likely be better off A different source in Yangkang Province The source in South Pyongan Province \u201cNone of them thought that something Hyon\u2019s tumble from the higher echelons of The incident has evoked a stronger response Daily NK inquired as to why any references He drew a parallel to Ri Yong Ho, the former *The content of this article was broadcast to the North Korean people via Unification Media Group [UMG].<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the heels of a report by South Korea\u2019s National Intelligence Service [NIS] on May 13th that North Korea\u2019s minister of the People\u2019s Armed Forces (MPAF), Hyon Yong Chol, had been executed for disloyalty, Daily NK\u2019s sources within the country reported reference to Hyon\u2019s execution during a political lecture for military officers stationed along the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":30741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[645],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy"],"yoast_head":"\n
\ndepartment officers of the highest-ranking military unit, referred to Hyon as \u2018an autocratic warlord who refused orders from the Supreme Leader
\n(Kim Jong Un),’\u201d a source in South Pyongan Province told Daily NK on May 14th.
\n\u201cThe Party cadres conducting the lecture compared the recent event to the \u2018anti-party,
\nanti-revolution Kim Chang Bong incident\u2019 of 40 years ago.\u201d<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nIl Sung\u2019s orders for the purge and subsequent execution of Kim Chang Bong, the
\nminister of National Security (now known as the Ministry of the People\u2019s Armed
\nForces), who, despite his background as a fellow fighter in Kim Il Sung\u2019s
\nanti-Japan guerilla movement, was executed in 1968 for opposing the North
\nKorea’s singular state ideology and embodying anti-party\/counter-revolutionary
\nelements. Scores of others met with the same fate, including Ho Bang Hak, the
\nthen-chief of the Division for Southern Intelligence.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nthe details of Hyon Yong Chol\u2019s crime were broached during the lecture,
\naccording to the source, who said the core message revolved around
\nreiterating that \u201cthe military must unconditionally adhere to the monolithic
\nleadership,” and elaborated that the lecturer condemned Hyon as a dogmatic warlord,
\nwarning all attending the meeting to take every precaution to thwart any and all signs of internal
\nunrest. <\/span> <\/p>\n
\n\u201canti-party and anti-revolutionary\u201d factions are soon expected to follow. \u201cIt
\nseems that ideology tests of cadres will follow soon, given that the head of
\nMPAF was executed for refusing mandates from the Supreme Leader,\u201d he predicted.
\n\u201cThe incident marks the execution of the highest-ranking official since Jang
\nSong Thaek, meaning that nobody knows what else this situation could
\nportend; military officials in particular are exercising extreme caution.”<\/span><\/p>\n
\nbroader chain of executions pouring out of Pyongyang has tensions running
\nrampant within the military. \u201cPersonnel are unable to conceal their fears after
\ncatching wind of Hyon\u2019s execution, saying, \u2018I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on; it
\nseems that status as a high-ranking official is meaningless these days,\u201d
\naccording to the source.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nsource put it, when summoned for daily tasks by higher levels of command; he
\nadded that many in the central ranks of command worry most about their
\nsusceptibility of becoming proverbial \u201cshrimp among whales,\u201d an analogy common
\nin both Koreas to describe the unfortunate position of being caught in power
\nstruggles between two superpowers.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\njust living as ordinary members of society and laying as low as possible,\u201d he
\nexplained. <\/span> <\/p>\n
\nclose to the military stated, \u201cWord of Hyon Yong Chol being executed in front of
\nmilitary personnel by an anti-aircraft gun made its way to high-ranking
\nofficials 10 days ago.\u201d She confirmed that Hyon was branded a \u201cwarlord,” and executed for his insubordination to the Highest Dignity (Kim
\nJong Un), doing things on his own terms, and dozing off at a meeting.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\ntouched on reactions among soldiers regarding the event, saying, \u201cYounger
\nsoldiers learned about Party\u2019s struggles against anti-revolutionaries of four
\ndecades ago, such as Kim Chang Bong and Ho Bong Hak–but only in history
\ncourses.\u201d<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nsimilar could take place in a contemporary context; they find the whole thing
\nvery unsettling, worrying about what this could lead to do in their country,\u201d
\nhe pointed out.<\/span><\/p>\n
\npower and subsequent demise have been frequent topics of conversation among
\nordinary residents packed within the passenger cars of trains [a situation
\noffering more opportunities to speak without alerting surveillance]. The source,
\nreflecting these sentiments, said, \u201cThey say, \u2018What\u2019s the use of becoming a
\nParty cadre? It\u2019s best to just make good money outside of politics to avoid
\nincidents like that.\u201d<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nfrom senior citizens, who see the recent execution as an ominous harbinger,
\ncomparing the entire string of executions to those carried out during the later
\npart of the Chosun Dynasty.<\/span> <\/p>\n
\nto and depictions of Hyon have yet to be removed from historical films and
\ndocuments–a symbolic, customary practice in North Korea regarding purged
\nofficials. \u201cIn the case that they delete all reference to him after his
\nexecution, everyone outside of the country would be able to confirm the purge;
\nthat\u2019s why they haven\u2019t deleted him yet,\u201d he explained.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nChosun People\u2019s Army chief-of-staff, as strongly influencing this course of
\naction, or rather, inaction. \u201cAfter Ri Yong Ho was purged he was promptly
\nremoved from all media content, unleashing a torrent of negative public
\nresponse across the international community and prompting North Korea to let
\nthe dust settle a bit before doing the same this time,\u201d the source concluded.<\/span><\/p>\n