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| A Gamble for North Korea’s Young Leader | A Gamble for North Korea’s Young Leader |
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| SEOUL, South Korea — In the most dramatic fall from power North Korea has ever revealed, its government on Monday televised images of Jang Song-thaek, the once-influential uncle of the leader Kim Jong-un, being escorted out of a party meeting in which he was stripped of all titles of power and expelled from the ruling Workers’ Party. | |
| Mr. Jang’s purge was highly unusual for North Korea not only because its victim was a man long considered a core member of Mr. Kim’s inner circle but also because of the way the regime abandoned its customary secrecy about internal politics and publicized the purge — through front-page coverage in the North’s state-run newspapers and through the televised spectacle of party secretaries, some tearfully, attacking a man who was until recently the North’s second most powerful figure. | Mr. Jang’s purge was highly unusual for North Korea not only because its victim was a man long considered a core member of Mr. Kim’s inner circle but also because of the way the regime abandoned its customary secrecy about internal politics and publicized the purge — through front-page coverage in the North’s state-run newspapers and through the televised spectacle of party secretaries, some tearfully, attacking a man who was until recently the North’s second most powerful figure. |
| In an unusual and extended Sunday meeting of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee presided over by his nephew, Mr. Jang was condemned for womanizing, drug abuse, “wining and dining at back parlors of deluxe restaurants,” gambling in foreign casinos at the party’s expense, and above all, nurturing his “politically motivated ambition” by building up a “faction” to challenge against Mr. Kim as the “unitary center” of the ruling party, state media reported. | In an unusual and extended Sunday meeting of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee presided over by his nephew, Mr. Jang was condemned for womanizing, drug abuse, “wining and dining at back parlors of deluxe restaurants,” gambling in foreign casinos at the party’s expense, and above all, nurturing his “politically motivated ambition” by building up a “faction” to challenge against Mr. Kim as the “unitary center” of the ruling party, state media reported. |
| Images released Monday by the North’s Korean Central Television showed two uniformed officers from the Ministry of People’s Security, an agency once said to be loyal to Mr. Jang, escorting the disgraced official from the meeting. | |
| He had been seen as a regent for a young nephew who was catapulted into the top leadership following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in late 2011. Mr. Kim’s rise coincided with a seemingly unbridled expansion of power for Mr. Jang, whose posts included a seat on the Political Bureau and vice chairmanships of the Central Military Commission and the top government organ, the National Defense Commission. | He had been seen as a regent for a young nephew who was catapulted into the top leadership following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in late 2011. Mr. Kim’s rise coincided with a seemingly unbridled expansion of power for Mr. Jang, whose posts included a seat on the Political Bureau and vice chairmanships of the Central Military Commission and the top government organ, the National Defense Commission. |
| Political purges are common in North Korea, where Mr. Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, and his grandfather, the North’s founding president, Kim Il-sung, used them to remove potential threats to their power and intimidate the elite. | Political purges are common in North Korea, where Mr. Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, and his grandfather, the North’s founding president, Kim Il-sung, used them to remove potential threats to their power and intimidate the elite. |
| But these often bloody machinations almost always take place behind the scenes, and it was highly unusual for the North’s leaders to convene an extended party meeting on a Sunday to condemn the victim and immediately publicize his “crimes,” analysts said. | But these often bloody machinations almost always take place behind the scenes, and it was highly unusual for the North’s leaders to convene an extended party meeting on a Sunday to condemn the victim and immediately publicize his “crimes,” analysts said. |
| “Kim Jong-un was declaring at home and abroad that he is now the truly one and only leader in the North, that he will not tolerate a No. 2,” said Yang Moo-jin, an analyst at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. | “Kim Jong-un was declaring at home and abroad that he is now the truly one and only leader in the North, that he will not tolerate a No. 2,” said Yang Moo-jin, an analyst at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. |
| By removing his uncle, long considered his caretaker, and openly conducting his regime’s biggest political purge, Mr. Kim was “demonstrating his confidence that he can stand alone without help,” said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea analyst at Dongguk University in Seoul. | By removing his uncle, long considered his caretaker, and openly conducting his regime’s biggest political purge, Mr. Kim was “demonstrating his confidence that he can stand alone without help,” said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea analyst at Dongguk University in Seoul. |
| Mr. Kim, 30, has been consolidating his power faster than most analysts had expected. But in Pyongyang’s opaque political world, cloaked in secrecy and often fertile ground for speculation, things are often not as they appear, analysts said. | Mr. Kim, 30, has been consolidating his power faster than most analysts had expected. But in Pyongyang’s opaque political world, cloaked in secrecy and often fertile ground for speculation, things are often not as they appear, analysts said. |
| If the charges against Mr. Jang are true, they essentially mean that Mr. Jang was able to build his own faction unchecked in the supposedly monolithic leadership. Alternatively, Mr. Jang may have lost a power struggle within Mr. Kim’s inner circle — a confrontation serious enough to compel Mr. Kim to publicize Mr. Jang’s ouster as a warning to the rest of the elite, rather than send him into silent isolation. | If the charges against Mr. Jang are true, they essentially mean that Mr. Jang was able to build his own faction unchecked in the supposedly monolithic leadership. Alternatively, Mr. Jang may have lost a power struggle within Mr. Kim’s inner circle — a confrontation serious enough to compel Mr. Kim to publicize Mr. Jang’s ouster as a warning to the rest of the elite, rather than send him into silent isolation. |
| “What we can say, by North Korea’s own admission, is that there have been serious power struggles since the death of Kim Jong-il and that the apparently rather smooth transition has been anything but at the highest levels of leadership,” said John Delury, a North Korea expert at Yonsei University in Seoul. | “What we can say, by North Korea’s own admission, is that there have been serious power struggles since the death of Kim Jong-il and that the apparently rather smooth transition has been anything but at the highest levels of leadership,” said John Delury, a North Korea expert at Yonsei University in Seoul. |
| Mr. Jang’s downfall triggered a flurry of speculation among analysts and officials in the region over how it might affect the stability and policies of the regime, which has defied the United Nations Security Council on tests of nuclear devices and long-range missiles. Some analysts said they feared that the North might attempt to try to create external tension with a military provocation in order to divert attention from the internal turmoil. | Mr. Jang’s downfall triggered a flurry of speculation among analysts and officials in the region over how it might affect the stability and policies of the regime, which has defied the United Nations Security Council on tests of nuclear devices and long-range missiles. Some analysts said they feared that the North might attempt to try to create external tension with a military provocation in order to divert attention from the internal turmoil. |
| “It’s difficult to predict, but we are watching with all possibilities open,” said Kim Eui-do, a spokesman for the Unification Ministry, the South Korean government agency in charge of relations with North Korea. | “It’s difficult to predict, but we are watching with all possibilities open,” said Kim Eui-do, a spokesman for the Unification Ministry, the South Korean government agency in charge of relations with North Korea. |
| Hong Lei, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, reaffirmed that Beijing’s traditionally friendly ties with Pyongyang would continue and called Mr. Jang’s purge “an internal matter” for the North. | Hong Lei, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, reaffirmed that Beijing’s traditionally friendly ties with Pyongyang would continue and called Mr. Jang’s purge “an internal matter” for the North. |
| Some South Korean officials who have met Mr. Jang and analysts who follow developments in the North compared him on Monday to a North Korean Rasputin who had implanted loyalists in key party posts while helping his inexperienced nephew through the period of transition, setting the stage for Mr. Jang to challenge him. | Some South Korean officials who have met Mr. Jang and analysts who follow developments in the North compared him on Monday to a North Korean Rasputin who had implanted loyalists in key party posts while helping his inexperienced nephew through the period of transition, setting the stage for Mr. Jang to challenge him. |
| Others described Mr. Jang as shy and easygoing, though a hard drinker, who was keenly aware that his position was precarious in a totalitarian state where all agencies of power compete to demonstrate loyalty to the top leader, often by plotting against one another. | Others described Mr. Jang as shy and easygoing, though a hard drinker, who was keenly aware that his position was precarious in a totalitarian state where all agencies of power compete to demonstrate loyalty to the top leader, often by plotting against one another. |
| But both camps agreed that Mr. Jang was among the moderates in North Korea and a backer of investment from China. He was also seen as a leading proponent of curtailing the North Korean People’s Army’s power, primarily by limiting its ability to trade in minerals or take part in other lucrative business deals. | But both camps agreed that Mr. Jang was among the moderates in North Korea and a backer of investment from China. He was also seen as a leading proponent of curtailing the North Korean People’s Army’s power, primarily by limiting its ability to trade in minerals or take part in other lucrative business deals. |
| Choi Jin-wook, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, a top government-financed research group in Seoul, said it was possible that Mr. Kim’s move against Mr. Jang had been orchestrated by the army. | Choi Jin-wook, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, a top government-financed research group in Seoul, said it was possible that Mr. Kim’s move against Mr. Jang had been orchestrated by the army. |
| “We will have to wait and see whether Kim Jong-un has stabilized his regime or become a figurehead with the removal of his uncle,” Mr. Choi said. “It’s still unclear whether Jang’s downfall was Mr. Kim’s own scheme. If it was engineered by the military, it could mean that Kim Jong-un has lost a key force of check-and-balance within his regime.” | “We will have to wait and see whether Kim Jong-un has stabilized his regime or become a figurehead with the removal of his uncle,” Mr. Choi said. “It’s still unclear whether Jang’s downfall was Mr. Kim’s own scheme. If it was engineered by the military, it could mean that Kim Jong-un has lost a key force of check-and-balance within his regime.” |
| Mr. Jang’s faction committed was accused of various crimes, including “disobeying the order issued by the supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army,” a statement that analysts said may reflect the army generals’ rising influence in the Pyongyang regime. South Korean news media have reported that Mr. Jang had clashed with hard-line generals by opposing the North’s launching of a long-range missile last December and its nuclear test in February. | Mr. Jang’s faction committed was accused of various crimes, including “disobeying the order issued by the supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army,” a statement that analysts said may reflect the army generals’ rising influence in the Pyongyang regime. South Korean news media have reported that Mr. Jang had clashed with hard-line generals by opposing the North’s launching of a long-range missile last December and its nuclear test in February. |
| Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at Sejong Institute in South Korea, said the events could signal more internal strife. “Given the extremely harsh stance against Jang and his followers,” he said, “a round of bloody purges will be inevitable as the regime roots out poisonous weeds from its leadership ranks.” | Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at Sejong Institute in South Korea, said the events could signal more internal strife. “Given the extremely harsh stance against Jang and his followers,” he said, “a round of bloody purges will be inevitable as the regime roots out poisonous weeds from its leadership ranks.” |
| It was not clear what had become of Mr. Jang’s wife, Kim Kyong-hee, the sister of Mr. Kim’s father. | |
| People considered closely associated with Mr. Jang include Ji Jae-ryong, the North Korean ambassador to Beijing, and the current prime minister, Pak Pong-ju, an economic technocrat. But the North Korean announcement on Monday indicated that Mr. Jang and Mr. Pak may be rivals rather than allies. It said Mr. Jang’s faction had abused its power to affect economic policies, “making it impossible for the economic guidance organs including the cabinet to perform their roles.” | People considered closely associated with Mr. Jang include Ji Jae-ryong, the North Korean ambassador to Beijing, and the current prime minister, Pak Pong-ju, an economic technocrat. But the North Korean announcement on Monday indicated that Mr. Jang and Mr. Pak may be rivals rather than allies. It said Mr. Jang’s faction had abused its power to affect economic policies, “making it impossible for the economic guidance organs including the cabinet to perform their roles.” |
| Mr. Pak was one of those who delivered speeches at the party meeting on Sunday. He was shown on North Korean television weeping as he condemned the man once considered to be his patron. | Mr. Pak was one of those who delivered speeches at the party meeting on Sunday. He was shown on North Korean television weeping as he condemned the man once considered to be his patron. |