By John Cha
I have the dubious distinction of having lived under North Korean rule for about three months during the Korean War in 1950. I was four years and seven months old at the time, and the North Korean soldiers, then occupiers of Seoul, taught me how to sing a song praising the Great General Kim Il-sung. My mother tells me that I used to run around and sing it all the time, much to her consternation. She says that I would sing louder and longer, whenever she scolded me for singing the song. Apparently, it was a catchy tune. I don’t remember the words or the melody now. It has been 59 years, after all, since my last contact with North Korean soldiers.
On the other hand, folks in North Korea didn’t forget that song. Their devotion to Kim Il-sung, even 15 years after his death, has not cooled. In fact, there are over 80,000 statues and monuments there dedicated to the Great Leader, according to KJ Sohn, an expert on North Korea. Kim Jong-il is credited with installing them all over the country in honor of his father, who passed in 1994. Now Kim Jong-il is reported to be experiencing serious health problems, and many people are asking what will happen when he dies.
Kim Jong-un (pronounced woon), Kim Jong-il’s 26-year-old third son, is slated to take over the helm, but his young age calls into question, in the minds of some experts, whether the transition of power will go smoothly. Kim Jong-il certainly has proven himself a brilliant strategist and is sure to arrange an iron-clad system to facilitate the transition of power. However, leaving behind a can of worms for his son—food problems, an energy shortage, United Nations sanctions, rising dissatisfaction among the population—hardly seems like a fatherly thing to do.
If successful, the Kim family then will have ruled the country for three generations, planting the seed for an irrevocable monarch, a system long considered a thing of the past. The program is moving ahead with the help of the many capable knights serving on the royal court. Recently, the kingmakers composed a song for Kim Jong-un, hailing him as “the new generation of revolutionary,” and North Korean children are reportedly seen singing the song as they march through the streets of Pyongyang.
Here are some of the knights—the elite circle of power behind Kim Jong-il—who will be crucial in Kim Jong-un’s bid for the crown.
Jo Myung-rok is the Director of the General Political Bureau of the People’s Armed Forces, meaning he’s the head ideology guy for the military. The ex-pilot is known to be a hard worker, but also hot-tempered. In 1993, as an Air Force commander, he vowed to sink the United States’ Seventh Fleet in reaction to then-U.S. Defense Minister William Perry’s remark about bombing the Yongbyeon nuclear reactor.
Kim Young-choon has served as the Minister of the Defense Department since 1995. Before that, he was a full general of the People’s Army, chief of the Munitions Department and Commander of the 6th Army. A hunting partner of Kim Jong-il, Kim Young-choon is known to be impatient and strong-willed.
Oh Geuk-ryul is the Chief Strategy Officer for the Central Committee of the Workers Party. A brilliant analyst, well versed in English, Russian and Chinese, he is very close to Kim Jong-il. The former Air Force lieutenant is a proponent of reforming the military to reduce the political component. He also established MiRim Military University, dedicated to electronic warfare.
Chun Byung-ho is the Secretary of Military Industry of the Central Committee of the Party, managing the military industry for over 20 years. He is the brains behind the nation’s nuclear weapons development. He is one of the few civilians who sit in on the meetings for the Military Commission of the Party Central, known as the nerve center for NK’s military planning and operation.
Kim Il-chol is the First Vice Director of the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces. A graduate of USSR Naval University, he devoted his career to modernizing the naval fleet, which included the building of 2,000-ton submarines and underwater base facilities. He participated in the historic meeting of the defense ministers of the North and South in 2000. He is known to be quiet, ambitious and creative in solving problems.
Ri Myung-su is the Army’s Chief Strategy Officer. Together with Jo Myung-rok and Kim Young-choon, he ranks in the top three or four in the military hierarchy. He receives instructions directly from Kim Jong-il and accompanies Kim on all the visits to military facilitie.
Kim Young-nam is President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, which is supposed to be the “official” top governing body and policy maker, according to the constitution. Kim Jong-il picks the members of the presidium, so basically it is his puppet organ. Kim Young-nam represents the North when he goes on state visits, and receives state visitors from abroad as its CEO. He is meticulous, with an excellent memory. He was devoted to Kim Il-sung and now Kim Jong-il.
Jang Sung-taek is the right arm of Kim Jong-il, as well as the husband of Kim Kyung-hee, Kim Jong-il’s sister. He has the Dear Leader’s complete trust and is one of the most powerful members in the Korean Workers Party. Jang, incidentally an accomplished accordionist, is very influential in matters of personnel and the Workers Party organization.
Gang Sang-choon is the Chief Secretary for Kim Jong-il and Vice Director of the Central Party Committee’s Organizational Guidance Department, a powerful organ managing all personnel matters. He manages all personal items for Kim and reviews documents for him, as well as coordinates security matters. He has been Kim’s shadow for 20 years.
Choi Ik-gyu is the Vice Director of the Information Department of the Central Committee of the Party, charged with disseminating propaganda to the public. He formerly managed the nation’s film productions, He fell into disfavor with Kim Jong-il and got sacked after the escape of the kidnapped South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee and her film director husband Shin Sang-ok. But Kim reinstated Choi in 1999.
Gang Seok-ju is First Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Bureau. He participated in the 1994 meeting between former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the late North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, and that same year led talks for the U.S.-North Korea Nuclear Treaty in 1994. Relatively open-minded, he underwent a month-long indoctrination after handling an event on his own without reporting it in the early 1990s. He recovered Kim Jong-il’s trust and is now a member of the dictator’s secret party.
Kim Ki-nam is the Secretariat for the Party Information Department (also known as the propaganda bureau) and the secretary in charge of revolutionary history. A former editor in chief of The Laborer magazine, he writes and edits speeches for Kim Jong-il. He was part of the North’s delegation that attended former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung’s funeral in Seoul last month.
