Reading News 4U: Has Kim executed another top aide? Former confidante vanishes after reports he was punished for his 'impudence' towards North Korean leader
Thursday, December 14, 2017
VietPress USA (Dec. 14, 2017): Today the Daily Mail reported that North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un just executed his second top aid Hwang Pyong-so .
According to Wikipedia, Hwang Pyong-so (born c. 1940- 1950) is a North Korean general and politician who holds the rank of Vice Marshal (Korean: 차수, Ch'asu) in the Korean People's Army. He is a member of the Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea and the top-ranking vice-chairman of the State Affairs Commission.
In September 2010, Hwang was appointed an alternate member of the Party Central Committee, holding the position of deputy head of the Organization and Guidance Department since the early 2000s with a military and security portfolio. In March 2014 he was elected to the Supreme People's Assembly during the 2014 SPA election; during the same month, he was identified as the first vice-director of the party organization department.
On April 28, 2014 Korean Central News Agency reported that the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and National Defense Commission promoted Hwang to the rank of vice marshal in the Korean People’s Army on April 26. He was first seen wearing the four stars of a full general on April 15, meaning he moved up two ranks – from colonel general in a short time. In an April 27 KCNA report on an artillery drill, Hwang was referred to for the first time as a member of the party Central Military
Later on May 1 he was revealed to be the new chief of the General Political Bureau of the KPA, considered the most senior position in the military after the supreme commander. On September 25 he also replaced former No. 2 Choe Ryong-hae in his last military capacity as first vice-chairman of the National Defence Commission, retaining the position as the NDC was transformed into the State Affairs Commission on 29 June 2016. On 18 February 2015 he was elevated to the top Presidium during a Politburo meeting. Hwang Pyong-so is seen as a key aide to Kim Jong-un.
Hwang is widely reported to have been a university classmate of Kim's aunt Kim Kyong-hui and reportedly maintained close ties with Kim Jong-un’s mother Ko Yong-hui.
Hwang's appearance at the closing ceremony of the 2014 Asian Games in the absence of Kim Jong Un, and his subsequent trip to South Korea, has led to speculation in the Western press about his current role within the North Korean government.
In November 2017, Hwang, once one of Kim’s most-trusted advisers, is facing unspecified punishment.
Read this news from Daily Mail at the following Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5178487/Has-Kim-executed-aide-Tyrants-Ex-confidante-vanishes.html?ito=social-facebook
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Has Kim executed another top aide? Former confidante vanishes after reports he was punished for his 'impudence' towards North Korean leader
- Hwang Pyong-So vanished in a purge of senior North Korean military figures
- Dictator Kim Jong-un's former confidante was punished for his 'impudence'
- South Korean media say it is not clear whether Hwang is even still alive
One of Kim Jong-un's top aides has not been seen for months and may even have been executed after being accused of 'impudence', it has been claimed.
Kim's former confidante Hwang Pyong-So vanished as part of a purge of senior military figures in North Korea during a bid by the dictator to reduce the influence of the powerful army.
Hwang, the head of the military's powerful General Political Bureau, was once seen as the second most powerful man in the secretive country.
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| Hwang Pyong So, left, stands near North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in this April, 2017 (AP Photo) |
Former friends: 'Punished' military leader Hwang Pyong So, left, stands near North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in this April, 2017 photo
But he was last seen in public in early October at a gymnastics gala and, according to South Korean newspaper, JoongAng Ilbo, it is not known if he is still alive.
Since taking power in 2011, North Korea's young leader has brutally removed anyone perceived as a potential challenge to his authority, including ordering the execution of family members.
But observers say the latest move appears aimed at curbing the overgrown influence of the military, which blossomed under his late father Kim Jong-Il's Songun (military-first) policy.
Last month it was reported that Hwang Pyong-So and his deputy Kim Won-Hong, had been punished for 'impudence' towards the ruling Korean Workers' Party, which Kim Jong-Un heads.
'This is another Kim Jong-Un play aimed at tightening his grip on, and taming, the military,' Yang Moo-Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, told AFP.
Kim is moving away from the Songun policy and 'reaffirming the principle that the party is always above the military' Yang said.
Professor Koh Yu-Hwan at Dongguk University added: 'The Songun policy has always been a double-edged sword and Kim is reorganising the military that became overgrown under his father and is restoring the system of party dominance.'
Rivals: The investigation of the military political bureau which allegedly led to the punishment of Hwang Pyong So, left, was spearheaded by Choe Ryong Hae, pictured right
The NIS said the level of punishment meted out to the two men was not known, but South Korean lawmakers who attended the closed-door briefing suggested they might have been sent to provincial farms for re-education through labour.
Hwang was once seen as the second most powerful man in North Korea. He led the high-level delegation that visited the South during the Incheon Asian Games in 2014, and made his last public appearance in October.
Kim Won-Hong had returned to office earlier this year after being sacked as minister of state security, for power abuse and corruption in mid-January.
Kim, who served as the spy chief since 2012, had played a key role in arresting and executing Kim Jong-Un's uncle Jang Song-Thaek four years ago.
The North's leader has reportedly killed more than 100 military, party and government officials, including Jang and Hyon Yong-Chol, a former defence chief who was put to death in 2015.
South Korea believes he was also responsible for the Cold War-style assassination of his half-brother Kim Jong-Nam, who was poisoned at a Malaysian airport earlier this year.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5178487/Has-Kim-executed-aide-Tyrants-Ex-confidante-vanishes.html#ixzz51HQmZymP
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