Special to WorldTribune.com The mysterious death of a top aide to Kim Jong-Un has all the markings of another purge by the young leader, analysts say. Kim Yang-Gon, secretary of the Workers’ Party and Kim Jong-Un’s point man on South Korea, was killed in a car crash in Pyongyang at 6:15 a.m. on Dec. 29. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — The defection of a senior North Korean banking official who managed slush funds for leader Kim Jong-Un was prompted by the fear of being purged, sources and analysts here said. Yun Tae-Hyong, the chief representative of the North’s Korea Daesong Bank, was on the run in remote eastern […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un has pardoned thousands of officials who were punished for their connections with his executed uncle Jang Song-Thaek. The action was taken to forestall potential chaos and encourage loyalty from the wavering ruling elite, according to media report and sources here. South Korea’s public broadcaster […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — Hwang Pyong-So is believed to have replaced Choe Rong-Hae as North Korea’s top military leader in charge of the powerful General Political Bureau of the People’s Army, sources here said. If confirmed, Hwang becomes the third No. 2 man in North Korea in less than five months following […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — North Korea and China have signed a formal agreement on building a high-speed railroad linking the Chinese border with the North’s capital Pyongyang and the southern city of Kaesong, a source said. The accord signed in February, and which could involve South Korea, calls for the two neighbors […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is closing in on his goal of eliminating the network of his late uncle and associates by the April 15 birthday of his grandfather Kim Il-Sung, sources and media reports here said. The North’s once powerful Administration Department of the Workers’ Party headed […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — Hwang Pyong-So, an unknown until recently, has rapidly risen within the core of North Korea’s ruling elite. Hwang was recently named deputy head of the Organization and Guidance Department of the Workers’ Party, one of the most powerful posts in the country, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry. The […]
Special to WorldTribune.com East-Asia-Intel.com North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un has imprisoned 40 popular actors and actresses connected with Jang Song-Thaek, including a woman believed to have had affairs with his executed uncle, U.S.-based broadcaster Radio Free Asia said. “About 40 entertainers, referred to as a group linked to Jang Song-Thaek, have been sent to Susung […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com SEOUL — North Korea’s vital border trade with China has been drastically reduced due to Pyongyang’s curbs on mineral shipments following the execution of Jang Song-Thaek who had dominated business dealings with China, a source here said. “Traffic of trucks carrying North Korea’s minerals and commodities to China fell by […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The visit of Donald Gregg, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea, to Pyongyang has got to be a sign of hope for improving relations between North Korea and its two arch foes, the U.S. and South Korea. As head of a delegation from a little known organization called […]