By William Tucker
Chief Correspondent for In Homeland Security
In an interview with South Korean media, two members of the Gukhae, South Korean legislature, stated that the ROK’s National Intelligence Service reported that Chang Song-taek, Kim Jong-un’s uncle was recently removed from all of his positions and expelled from the Korean Workers’ Party. As if to put an exclamation point on the South Korean analysis, the North released several images of Chang being removed by uniformed guards at a recent KWP political bureau meeting. Along with the official North Korean report of Chang’s dismissal came multiple accusations that led to the event such as forming his own political faction, womanizing, gambling, drug use, etc. This is not the first time that Chang has been removed from politics, but the very public display of removing Chang strongly suggests that he will not be allowed to return. There is already some speculation that he has been executed just as two of his associates were back in November, but there is no confirmation of this. Notably, Chang’s wife and Kim Jong-un’s Aunt, Kim Kyong Hui was not in attendance at this meeting. Kyong Hui is the sister of the late Kim Jong-il and has suffered from a variety of health issues.
North Korea is a tough nut to crack. Much of the information available is controlled and fashioned in a way meant to obfuscate the real political picture in Pyongyang. That being said, there is much we can discern from Chang’s dismissal. Chang acted as mentor to Kim Jong-un after Jong-il passed away and has been a powerful player despite his occasional fall from grace. It may be that Jong-un and his uncle most profound disagreement came over economics as the official statement from the government seems to suggest. Though there were plenty of accusations levied against Chang, the press release spends the bulk of the time complaining about Chang’s capitalist leanings. Oddly enough, North Korea has had some modest economic improvements in the last two years, but Chang may have found himself in the minority of how best to foster these improvements. This latest purge can be read as either Kim Jong-un’s confidence in his ability to rule, or his concern over the regime’s stability depending on with North Korean expert you cite. Each position is certainly defendable and the scant evidence available allows for a great many interpretations, however removing someone of such significance is a development the bears close scrutiny. Change is occurring in Pyongyang, but who stands to gain from these changes is what needs to be watched.
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