Mick Hartley

According to South Korean reports, another leading North Korean figure has been dismissed:

North Korea has dismissed its minister of state security, a key aide to the reclusive state's young leader, Kim Jong-un, South Korea has said, in what a high-profile defector said would be another sign of a “crack in the elite” in Pyongyang if true.

Kim Won Hong was removed from office as head of the feared “bowibu”, or Stasi-like secret police, in mid-January apparently on charges of corruption, abuse of power and human rights abuses, Jeong Joon-hee, South Korea's Unification Ministry spokesman, said, confirming media reports.

Last year, North Korea's vice premier for education was executed for not keeping his posture upright at a public event, South Korea said.

Thae Yong Ho, North Korea's former deputy ambassador to London who has defected to the South, told Reuters he was not surprised at the news.

“I cannot confirm if the reports are true or not, but this kind of power struggle is quite normal in North Korean history. Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un's style of control is always one of collective surveillance that checks the power of each organisation.

”Kim Jong Un has killed too many high officials and there are a lot of complaints and dissent amongst the high elite because of it. If the demotion of Kim Won Hong is really true, then that's another sign of a crack in the North Korean elite group.“

The man certainly looks just how you'd expect a head of the secret police to look:

[Photo: KCNA/Reuters]

More at the Daily NK:

South Korea’s Ministry of Unification recently announced that the head of North Korea’s State Security Department Kim Won Hong has been dismissed from his post. He was reportedly demoted from the rank of general to major general following an investigation by the Organization and Guidance Department. It was also noted that a number of high-ranking officials in his department have been executed as part of the fallout.

"The official position of the North Korean regime is that the demotion of Kim Won Hong was due to corruption and abuse of power, along with human rights violations such as torture perpetrated by the State Security Department (SSD) during interrogations. Kim Jong Un appears to be blaming Kim Won Hong for a reign of terror and poor economic achievements, while strengthening his own appearance as a people-loving leader," a Ministry of Unification spokesperson noted. 

North Korea’s SSD is responsible for protecting the Kim Jong Un regime and regularly arrests suspected spies and others perceived as a threat to the dictatorship. The Ministry has held a position of uncontested power since Kim Jong Un became leader and carried out purges of high-ranking officials. The downfall of Kim Jong Un's uncle Jang Sung Taek greatly strengthened the SSD’s authority, and the organization has been identified by outside observers as responsible for human rights violations including the torture of ordinary citizens. It has also become common practice for its agents to demand money from people in exchange for leniency – for often falsified allegations.

However, the purge of Kim Won Hong is seen as a broad punishment of the entire SSD itself. While the SSD has indeed abused its powers continuously, it is highly unlikely that Kim Jong Un has not been aware of this.

The primary aim of the purge therefore seems to be a curtailing of the SSD's power. An element common to all regimes is that dictators are more likely to be overthrown by their close allies than by ordinary citizens, so any influential body is seen as a political threat.

This was emphasized by Thae Yong Ho, North Korea's former deputy ambassador to London, who quipped, “One will burn if they get too close to the sun.”

As there can only be one leader in the North Korean regime, the best advice for individual cadres is to obey orders and maintain a safe distance from positions of influence.