North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced the following day that the country, under the leadership of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, carried out a “demonstration of power” on May 30, using a very large radiating artillery piece. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jun. 8 (Korea Bizwire) – Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, has notably increased his public activities related to the military over the past three months, according to a new analysis by the Korea Institute for National Unification, a think tank in Seoul.
In a report titled “Analysis of the North Korean Leadership’s Public Activities from March to May 2024,” published online on June 7, the institute found that Kim had 19 publicly reported military engagements during that period, far outpacing other sectors like politics (five instances) and the economy (four instances).
The surge is striking when compared to the entire March-to-May period from 2021 to 2023, during which Kim’s military-related public activities totaled just 20.
The report’s authors, Kim Gap-sik, a senior research fellow, and Jang Cheol-wun, a research fellow, attributed the intensified military focus to the end of the Covid-19 pandemic and Pyongyang’s policy shift toward South Korea announced late last year.
“After the December 2023 plenary meeting of the Workers’ Party’s central committee, where he decided to change policy toward the South, Kim Jong-un not only oversaw missile launches and munitions factory inspections but also led or observed six different military drills from March to May 2024,” the report stated.
It also noted an unusual absence of public activities by Kim Tok-hun, the North’s premier, who did not make any solo appearances between May 7 and the end of the month. He was also absent from the party’s Central Committee’s 20th Political Bureau meeting on May 24.
In contrast, Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly, has recently become more visible, delivering a speech representing North Korea at the opening of the “Year of China-North Korea Friendship” in April.
Looking ahead, the report predicted that Choe could visit China around October 6, marking the 75th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties between the two countries, when commemorative events are expected in China.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
