ID :
46733
Sat, 02/21/2009 - 14:41
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/46733
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(2nd LD) N. Korean leader promotes loyal aide in military shakeup
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il appointed his loyal aide to the No. 2 post in the National Defense Commission on Friday, state media said, in another sign of the aging leader consolidating his circle.
"O Kuk-ryol was appointed as vice-chairman of the NDC," the North's Korean
Central News Agency said in a brief statement. The post is second only to Kim,
chairman of the defense commission, which controls the North's 1.2-million-strong
army.
Kim conducted a broader shakeup last week, appointing his close confidants as the
nation's defense minister and chief of the military General Staff. The reshuffle
signaled that the 67-year-old leader is making important decisions after
suffering a stroke in August.
Pyongyang also elects new lawmakers next month.
O, 78, a former air force commander and currently general of the Korean People's
Army, was a kingmaker who helped Kim win military support after he was tapped as
heir in the early 1980s, said Baek Seung-joo, an analyst with the Korea Institute
for Defense Analyses, a state-run think tank in Seoul.
"O is a military elder whom Kim Jong-il trusts," Baek said.
Born in China's Jilin province in 1931, O shares a long history with a loyal
family. His father was a member of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's
anti-Japanese guerrilla unit, and O is said to have received care and attention
from Kim Jong-il's mother, Kim Jong-suk, while he was a boy. He used a car given
by Kim Jong-il.
Educated in Russia, he tried to reform the North Korean military and reduce its
political functions in the late 1980s, but he was threatened with demotion amid a
harsh backlash until leader Kim came to his rescue, sources say.
He is considered to be combat-savvy and has rarely appeared in North Korean
media. Sources say one of his sons is a close confidante of leader Kim's third
and youngest son, Kim Jong-un, who, sources say, was tapped as successor last
month.
O replaces Kim Yong-chun, who was recently promoted as minister of the People's
Armed Forces, the counterpart of South Korea's Defense Ministry.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
"O Kuk-ryol was appointed as vice-chairman of the NDC," the North's Korean
Central News Agency said in a brief statement. The post is second only to Kim,
chairman of the defense commission, which controls the North's 1.2-million-strong
army.
Kim conducted a broader shakeup last week, appointing his close confidants as the
nation's defense minister and chief of the military General Staff. The reshuffle
signaled that the 67-year-old leader is making important decisions after
suffering a stroke in August.
Pyongyang also elects new lawmakers next month.
O, 78, a former air force commander and currently general of the Korean People's
Army, was a kingmaker who helped Kim win military support after he was tapped as
heir in the early 1980s, said Baek Seung-joo, an analyst with the Korea Institute
for Defense Analyses, a state-run think tank in Seoul.
"O is a military elder whom Kim Jong-il trusts," Baek said.
Born in China's Jilin province in 1931, O shares a long history with a loyal
family. His father was a member of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's
anti-Japanese guerrilla unit, and O is said to have received care and attention
from Kim Jong-il's mother, Kim Jong-suk, while he was a boy. He used a car given
by Kim Jong-il.
Educated in Russia, he tried to reform the North Korean military and reduce its
political functions in the late 1980s, but he was threatened with demotion amid a
harsh backlash until leader Kim came to his rescue, sources say.
He is considered to be combat-savvy and has rarely appeared in North Korean
media. Sources say one of his sons is a close confidante of leader Kim's third
and youngest son, Kim Jong-un, who, sources say, was tapped as successor last
month.
O replaces Kim Yong-chun, who was recently promoted as minister of the People's
Armed Forces, the counterpart of South Korea's Defense Ministry.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
