Seoul - North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un has ousted his top general as part of a reorganization within the nation's military command, all the while urging his armed forces to brace for a potential conflict.
General Pak Su Il has been relieved of his position as Chief of the General Staff, with Vice Marshal Ri Yong Gil taking up the mantle, as reported by the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency.
The restructuring also entailed changes among "leading commanding officers," who either faced dismissals, transfers, or appointments during a session of the Central Military Commission on Wednesday, per KCNA.
North Korea has a history of overhauling its military leadership, a practice that sees some officials resurface in different roles while others retreat from public attention.
Vice Marshal Ri's trajectory in the ranks exemplifies this trend. He recently ascended to the second-ranking position in the North Korean military hierarchy, as of December 31. Analysts point out that Ri's career has been characterized by fluctuations, with rumors even circulating seven years ago that he had been executed following a personnel reshuffling.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, remarked, "Ri Yong Gil is a longstanding member of North Korea’s military elite, who before making it to the top, experienced ups and downs during his career. Seven years ago, he was even rumored to have been executed after a personnel reshuffle."
Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute, a private think tank near Seoul, emphasized that the motives behind Kim's military restructuring are multi-faceted and may not necessarily be punitive in nature.
"As Kim Jong Un has been known to frequently promote, demote, and relieve officials based on their performance in fulfilling duties, the dismissals of executives could be seen as a means of holding them accountable rather than a form of punishment," explained Cheong Seong-chang.
Leif-Eric Easley suggested that Kim Jong Un's motive might be to prevent any subordinate from amassing excessive power beneath him. Easley noted, "Kim Jong Un frequently shuffles leadership roles beneath him to prevent the emergence of figures comparable to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, who challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin's authority by accumulating control over financial assets and garnering loyalty from armed forces."
The recent overhaul of military leadership received minimal attention in the KCNA report, which primarily centered on the imperative of bolstering the army's preparedness for potential conflict amid the complex political and military circumstances prevailing on the Korean Peninsula.
Although the KCNA report refrained from explicitly mentioning South Korea and its primary ally, the United States, its content seemed to indirectly allude to them, referring to the "chief culprits of the deteriorated situation" on the peninsula.
The KCNA report underscored that the pivotal topic of the meeting was to diligently ready the military for warfare, prioritizing the comprehensive preparation for combat scenarios.
"The current circumstances, wherein antagonistic forces are increasingly evident in their imprudent military confrontations with the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), necessitate the armed forces of the DPRK to exhibit a resolute, proactive, and resolute determination, alongside comprehensive and impeccable military preparedness for potential warfare," stated the report.
Throughout this summer, North Korea has escalated its military rhetoric, issuing threats of downing US reconnaissance planes and vowing retaliation for the port call of a US nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine in South Korea, marking the first occurrence in four decades.
Pyongyang has also showcased advancements in ballistic missile technology, with the latest demonstration being a test of the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last month. The missile's flight duration implies it holds the capability to strike the US mainland.
This weapon presentation was part of North Korea's "Victory Day" parade, a display of armaments that commemorated the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted the Korean War. It's important to note that the two Koreas remain in a state of war, given the absence of a formal peace treaty.
During the recent Pyongyang meeting, Kim issued directives for war drills involving the country's latest weaponry.
Just last week, Kim visited arms and munitions factories, imparting "significant instructions" for the enhancement of capacity to mass-produce new ammunition, according to a KCNA report.
In response to the mounting tensions on the peninsula, South Korea declared its intention to conduct a nationwide civil defense exercise on August 23. The exercise will involve most of the nation's 51 million inhabitants practicing evacuations to shelters or secure underground locations during a 20-minute session, attributed to "provocations" from Pyongyang, as stated by Seoul.