‘N.K. power shifting from military to party’

Pyongyang may idolize Kim Jong-un with typical party-centric communist system


Under the new leadership of Kim Jong-un, the center of power of the North Korean regime seems to be moving toward the Workers’ Party from the military, experts said.

The deceased despot Kim Jong-il, who the North announced died of a heart attack on Dec. 17, was general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea. As such, the senior Kim, Jong-un’s father, exercised absolute power both in the party and the military.

As the creator of the “military-first” policy, the late Kim tipped the scale of power more toward the military. However, his successor and third son is seeking some balance between the party and the military, said Koh Yu-hwan, professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University.

“In the era of Kim Jong-il, the regime was basically based on the military-first policy, which enabled an excessive and powerful growth of the military. It is clear that the center of power is moving back to the party from military,” Koh told The Korea Herald.

“In a communist state, the military is supposed to follow the leadership of the party. North Korea appears to be establishing the party’s unique leadership under the ‘supreme commander.’”

Kim Jong-un, presumed to be 29 years old, assumed the title of Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army on Saturday, just two days after his father’s memorial service. He is also Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Kim Jong-un speaks to a soldier of a tank division on Sunday during his inspection of the unit, which was his first official work of the new year. (Yonhap News)

“The Central Military Commission is expected to play a larger role than the National Defense Commission,” Koh said.

Kim Jong-un had prepared in earnest for the takeover of leadership from his father since the third Worker’s Party Convention in September 2010, when the party’s status was raised one notch higher.

Cheon Seong-whun, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, noted that just because power is seen moving closer to the party does not mean the military’s significance will be reduced.

While the “military-first” policy is to control the armed forces directly, more weight on the party means controlling the military through the party’s grip, he said.

“It can be interpreted as a change in how the regime manages the military but it does not mean that North Korea will be discarding the military-centered policy,” Cheon said.

The young Kim’s power was reaching all areas of domestic affairs in North Korea even before the death of Kim Jong-il, because the North’s military and intelligence institutions have been reporting through the young Kim to the senior Kim since late 2009, and the party and state organizations, since 2010, according to Cheong Seong-chang, senior fellow at the Sejong Institute.

“Now, Kim Jong-un is at the top position to make key policy decisions. The 2012 joint New Year editorial shows that North Korea will put top priority on the establishment of Stalinist, absolute dictatorship under which all the senior officials, soldiers and civilians should follow the order of the young Kim,” Cheong said.

He said Pyongyang might scrap the post of Chairman of the National Defense Commission, which the deceased Kim Jong-il held, as well as the agency itself in a bid to cement Kim Jong-il as “an eternal Chairman of the National Defense Commission,” just like Pyongyang abolished the post of “president” after Kim Jong-il’s father, Kim Il-sung, died in 1994.

KINU’s Cheon agreed with Cheong, saying it may appear “blasphemous” to North Koreans for Kim Jong-un to use his father’s title as is.

“Only Kim Il-sung held the title of president and only Kim Jong-il had the title National Defense Commission Chairman. Likewise, Kim Jong-un might come up with a new title,” Cheon said.

Chung Gyu-sup, North Korea expert at Kwandong University, said that moving power from the military toward the party has been sensed since the latest party’s convention, but it might not be a big change.

“Unlike South Korea, the North Korean society does not move under the rule of law. On the surface, a power shift could be an issue to be debated in the academic circles. But it is premature to tell how the core power of the North Korean leadership is moving right now,” said Chung.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)