North Korean leader fires top military general, calls for weapons production boost

Asia-Pacific, News August 11, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un dismissed his top military general and called for a boost in weapons production as he urged his military to prepare for war, North Korea’s state-owned media KCNA reported on August 9, 2023.

North Korea’s state-owned media outlet reported that Kim presided over a meeting of the Central Military Commission in Pyongyang and he discussed his plans for developing policies to deter North Korea’s enemies.

KCNA reported that Kim Jong Un dismissed, transferred, or appointed several “leading commanding officers” during the Central Military Commission meeting. The media outlet added that the North Korean leader urged his military commanders to boost weapons production and expand the scope of military drills.

Shakeup in military leadership

During the meeting, Kim Jong Un dismissed the country’s top military leader, Chief of the General Staff Pak Su Il, and replaced him with General Ri Yong Gil, who previously served as the country’s defense minister. Kim also appointed General Ri as the commander of North Korea’s conventional troops.

Pak was appointed as North Korea’s Chief of General Staff only seven months ago. The KCNA report did not elaborate on the reason behind Pak’s dismissal.

General Ri Yong Gil served in the position of the country’s Chief of General Staff before being sacked in 2016. His subsequent absence from the office led to speculations of his execution in South Korean media, however, he appeared a few months later after being nominated for a senior military post and eventually becoming the country’s defense minister.

^{North Korean leader Kim Jong Un points to a map of the Korean Peninsula at a meeting of the Central Military Commission in Pyongyang, North Korea, on August 9, 2023. (Image Credit: KCNA/via Reuters)}

War preparations

The KCNA report highlighted that Kim advised the top military brass to start war preparations. Without naming the United States or South Korea, the two countries that Pyongyang considers its rival enemies, the report said that the meeting “analyzed the military moves of the chief culprits of deteriorated situation” on the peninsula.

“Making full war preparations” was the top agenda item for the meeting, the KCNA report said. “The present situation, in which the hostile forces are getting ever more undisguised in their reckless military confrontation with the DPRK, [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] requires the latter’s army to have more positive, proactive and overwhelming will and thoroughgoing and perfect military readiness for a war,” it said.

North Korea has rapidly ramped up its military rhetoric this summer by threatening to shoot down U.S. reconnaissance planes. Pyongyang’s military effort saw an increase especially after U.S. Navy made a port call for its nuclear-capable submarine in South Korea for the first time in four decades.

Last month, the North Korean leader participated in a “Victory Day” parade, along with Russian and Chinese delegations. The parade was held in Pyongyang on July 27, 2023, and displayed some of the country’s most powerful nuclear missiles including its advanced ballistic missile technology, weapons, and drones. The country also recently tested the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of striking the United States.