Pak Jong Chon goes Personal Secretariat
Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) showed the flag and waved the banner for the 25 April holiday commemorating the 94th anniversary of the foundation of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army. To mark the anniversary, Kim Jong Un observed a mortar competition of Korean People’s Army (KPA) corps units and visited mechanized divisions in the western command area.
Coming out to the congratulatory visit for the KPA mechanized elements were several members of the KPA high command including Chief of the KPA General Staff Ri Yong Gil (Ri Yo’ng-kil), Minister of National Defense No Kwang Chol (No Kwang-ch’o’l) and recently-minted KPA General Political Bureau Director Kim Song Gi (Kim So’ng-ki).
Attending both events was MAR Pak Jong Chon (Pak Cho’ng-cho’n). Pak is the immediate past Vice Chairman of the Party Central Military Commission (CMC) and director of the Party Political Guidance of the Military (PGM) Department in the Central Committee During the 9th Party Congress and opening session of the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), MAR Pak was removed from high office.
Given the significance of the anniversary and events, it would be reasonable to assume MAR Pak has been returned to his previous positions, thus replacing his successor Jong Kyong Thaek (Cho’ng Kyo’ng-t’aek). This is massively improbable. Jong was most likely visiting other KPA units to mark the anniversary.
When we assess MAR Pak, we might turn to his wing man at these events VMAR Hwang Pyong So (Hwang Pyo’ng-so’). Hwang is a legacy political manager, via the Organization Guidance Department (OGD) and prior KPA managerial experience. Given Hwang’s social network interactions and prior career across OGD and the KPA GPB, it would be sensible to surmise Hwang as a forerunner to Pak’s old PGM position.
Pak Jong Chon, on the other hand, is a stalwart GSD military official for whom political and civil-military relations are a minor part of his experience and career experience. The PGM post was only the back end of Pak’s career. This is a core elite with experience as an artillery commander, an influential official via his old post at the KPA Fire-power Command slot and chief of the GSD. Political management of North Korean armed forces was, merely, the back end of MAR Pak’s career.
It is highly probable that Pak Jong Chon has migrated to the Personal Secretariat, or perhaps the General Affairs Department 😉, as a leading adviser to Kim Jong Un on military planning and overall defense policy. Like Hwang, another core elite adviser perched at the Ministry of National Defense, Pak has operated in the regime’s highest echelons. He does not need to be “read in” on sensitive information. He is aware of the regime’s current strengths and weaknesses and knows Kim Jong Un’s priorities and aspirations going forward from the 9th Party Congress.
