Seoul (AsiaNews) – North Korea’s decades-old “military-first” policy is changing as the power of the Communist regime’s army is reduced in favour of the Ministry of People’s Security. Some experts suggest the shift is related to the ongoing battle over the succession to the ‘dear leader’ who fears a generals’ coup.
The report comes from a source inside the government in Pyongyang, anonymous for security reason, who spoke to the South Korean daily Dong-a Ilbo.
The source said yesterday that “Kim Jong Il has ordered the military to transfer its foreign operations to his cabinet and is implementing a radical reform of military authorities.”
Kim ordered a cut to the armed forces by 30 per cent, including the number of soldiers.
The changes should be announced before the end of March, but the source noted that officers in the chain of command including the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces, the National Security Council, the Ministry of State Inspection and the General Staff Department began retiring in January.
The Ministry of People’s Security is instead being strengthened. Funds taken from the military are said to have already been given to the “secret police” which will now be able to probe the military, hitherto protected from outside interference.
According to the source the shift shows how much Kim Jong-il is afraid of the power vacuum that his death might cause, and that he is convinced that his dynasty has the right to rule over the country. For this reason he does not want the military to come forward in a power struggle.