SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea announced on Wednesday that its leader, Kim Jong-un, had assumed the title of marshal, a move widely seen as aimed at bolstering his authority over the military, which analysts say he has been trying to tame through a reshuffling of top generals. The announcement of Mr. Kim’s new, seemingly redundant title — he had already been the supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army — was made two days after the dismissal of the chief of the military’s general staff, Vice Marshal Ri Yong-ho. On Tuesday, North Korea announced the promotion of a little-known general to vice marshal. The shifting fortunes of the generals reflected Mr. Kim’s attempt to use the increased leverage of the ruling Workers’ Party to rein in the military and consolidate his grip on the power, analysts said.“There is a power game going on, and it’s clear that the party people won the first round against the military generals,” said Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies in Seoul, referring to the governing Workers’ Party. “What we see is not just the reshuffle of the military, but the continuation of the reshuffle of the power elite.”Analysts said they were unsure if the young Mr. Kim, who took over in December after his father died, was responding to a perceived challenge to his authority or was taking a proactive move to solidify control.There was no indication so far that his actions would translate into a change in foreign policy, which remains grounded on the notion that the country is under imminent threat from South Korea and the United States.The promotion of Hyon Yong-chol to vice marshal, announced in the main party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, followed the removal of Vice Marshal Ri, who was also one of the highest-ranking members of the Workers’ Party. The official explanation for his departure was illness, but analysts cast doubt on that because he had recently been seen in photographs with Mr. Kim and looked healthy.In dealing with a country as opaque as North Korea, analysts had few clues to go on when assessing the importance of the military shuffle. They based their judgments on the recent appointments of family members of Mr. Kim and some of his closest allies in the Workers’ Party to top military posts, as well as hints of change in Mr. Kim’s first public speech, in April.In that speech, Mr. Kim used the term “the party’s military” several times in what experts say might have been a clue that he intended to use the party to diminish the political power of the one-million-member military, whose influence had expanded under his father, Kim Jong-il.After suffering a stroke in 2008, Kim Jong-il designated Vice Marshal Ri to help his sonwin the military’s allegiance to smooth his succession. But Kim Jong-il also appointed Kim Kyong-hui, a beloved sister, and her husband, Jang Song-thaek, to help his son win a strong following in the Workers’ Party, analysts say, setting up a possible struggle for the young man’s loyalty.Some analysts saw signs of palace intrigue in the removal of Vice Marshal Ri, with the implication that the aunt and uncle, now both four-star generals, and their allies in the party had won a crucial battle.“The young and inexperienced Kim Jong-un is riding the backs of his aunt and uncle,” said Baek Seung-joo, the chief North Korea analyst at the state-financed Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul. Mr. Chang, with the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies, said that the struggle was not over and that the generals might try to fight back. “Even if it’s not yet a challenge to Kim Jong-un’s own power,” he said, “we may see more conflicts between the party and the military as they fight for their stakes within his regime.”
Viewers at a train station in South Korea watch as North Korea's state media reported Kim Jong-un was given the title of marshal.
Link to news: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/world/asia/shifts-in-north-korea-may-be-attempt-to-rein-in-military.html?_r=1
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