KJU Hosts Dinner for Navy Day (updated 30 August)
Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n; KJU) hosted a banquet with Korean People’s Army [KPA] Navy command and political command staff on 27 August (Saturday). The event appeared to have taken place on the premises of the Central Committee Office Building. He was accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol Ju (Ri So’l-chu), and their daughter and his heir apparent Kim Ju Ae (Kim Chu-a’e). Among those in attendance were KPA Navy Commander Kim Myong Sik (Kim Myo’ng-sik), KPA Navy Political Director Vice Admiral [VAdm] Kim Chang Guk (Kim Ch’ang-kuk), KPA Air Force Coammander Gen. Kim Kwang Hyok (Kim Kwang-hyok), Workers Party of Korea Secretary [WPK] for Organizational Affairs Jo Yong Won [Cho Yo’ng-wo’n], WPK Secretary for Defense Industry and WPK Central Military Commission [CMC] Vice Chairman Marshal Ri Pyong Chol [Ri Pyo’ng-ch’o’l], former Chief of the KPA General Staff Marshal Pak Jong Chon [Pak Cho’ng-cho’n], Minister of National Defense Gen. Kang Sun Nam (Kang Sun-nam), WPK Secretary for Propaganda and Agitation [publicity and information] Ri Il Hwan (Ri Il-hwan), WPK Secretary for Economic Affairs O Su Yong (O Su-yo’ng),WPK Military Affairs Department Director O Il Jong (O Il-cho’ng), WPK Discipline and Investigations Department Director Kim Sang Gun (Kim Sang-kun), WPK Legal (Justice) Department Director Kim Hyung Sik (Kim Hyung-sik), WPK Workers’ and Social Organizations’ Department Director Ri Tu Song (Ri Tu-so’ng), WPK Propaganda and Agitation Department [PAD] Deputy Director and deputy chief of the KJU Personal Secretariat Kim Yo Jong (Kim Yo’-cho’ng) and DPRK Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui (Ch’oe So’n-hu’i).
Attending the banquet were the commanders of the KPA Navy’s West and East Sea Fleets, various political commissars (under the KPA General Political Bureau), flotilla command staff and special operations forces [SOF] commanders (under the KPA Reconnaissance General Bureau).
Pak Jong Chon made a speech “full of deep emotion” and he talked “about the world of love and affection of the Respected Supreme Commander who paid a congratulatory visit to the Navy Command on the occasion of the significant Navy Day and spent the whole day with the officers and soldiers of the Navy to give ever-victorious spirit and strength.” Pak Jong Jon said that “the happy hours of the day unforgettable for all life are associated with the great trust and expectation of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un who wants all the officers and soldiers of the Navy to become patriotic brave fighters and heroes of victory whom the country and the people are proud of.” Pak called “upon all the commanding officers to turn out as one to endlessly glorify the honor of the brave death-defying corps and shock brigade of the Party Central Committee.” Pak “courteously proposed a toast for the good health of Kim Jong Un who provided a firm guarantee for the Navy to steadily advance along the course of victory as a pivotal force and core service of the DPRK.”
KJU “expressed deep thanks for it and had a cordial talk with the reliable and stout commanding officers of the Navy.” He remarked that “we should more purely and proudly carry forward the history of victory gained in the fiercest confrontation with the hostile forces seeking to usurp the sovereignty and dignity of our state…when the transparent spirit of the sailors firmly defends the inviolable territorial waters, the sea of the homeland will be pacific and everything on this land will shine as an immortal honor and valuable wealth.”
The banquet was “replete with impressive scenes showing the kindred ties between the great brilliant commander and the backbone of the naval force who share intentions and feelings, life and death on the sacred road for building a rich country with a strong army.” The KPA Navy command staff “hardened their strong will to strive for the bright future and steady growth of the Navy of the Republic shining along with the undying fame of our state and army, cherishing the love for and trust in them as their lifelong glory.”
