North Korea: Kim Jong-un dismisses top military official

North Korea announced a major personnel change as leader Kim Jong-un dismissed the second-most powerful military official. The change in personnel occurred despite Kim’s lauding of the isolated nation’s military advances in the past year.

North Korean state media KCNA reported on Sunday that Kim has dismissed Pak Jong-chon, the second-most powerful military official after Kim last week. Pak served as the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and a secretary of the ruling Worker’s Party central committee. Pak was replaced by Ri Yong Gil during the committee’s annual meeting.

There was no reason given for Pak’s dismissal, but Pyongyang usually makes personnel changes, and the annual year-end meeting is usually where the changes are announced as well as major policy decisions. The Central Military Commission, led by Kim, is the most powerful military decision-making body in the country above the defense ministry.

Pak’s replacement comes at a time when Kim called for the development of new intercontinental ballistic missiles and a larger nuclear arsenal to counter South Korea and the United States. Pak was promoted to a four-star general in 2020 from a one-star artillery commander in 2015 and has taken credit for the progress made in the nation’s short-range missile technology.

Despite no reason stated for Pak’s dismissal, Korea Institute for National Unification fellow Oh Gyeong-sup said the recent incursion of North Korean drones into South Korean airspace may have played a role. Oh said Pak may have taken responsibility for the lack of response by North Korea to South Korea’s deployment of drones over North Korean airspace in response to the previous incursion.

Kim’s call for the increased development of ICBMs and nuclear warheads followed Pyongyang’s New Year’s Day missile launch hours later, firing a short-range ballistic missile off its east coast. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile traveled around 400 kilometers before landing in the water between the Korean peninsula and Japan.

In remarks to the Worker’s Party, Kim also accused Washington and Seoul of carrying out a plan to “isolate and stifle” North Korea, describing such a plan as “unprecedented in human history.”

Kim also said, according to KCNA, that Pyongyang plans to launch its first military spy satellite this year.