Taeyongho: "Riyongho's Dismissal Is Kim Jong-un's Nervous Outburst Personnel Move"

Interview_Taeyongho, Former North Korean Embassy Minister in the UK./Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

As various interpretations emerge regarding the sudden replacement of the two top diplomats who have led North Korea's diplomacy, former North Korean Ambassador to the UK, Tae Yong-ho, offered an analysis that it was a "punitive personnel move by Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea." He assessed that the decision was made impulsively without strategic consideration and that it could negatively impact not only North Korean diplomacy but also the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

On the 20th, former Ambassador Tae stated on his blog, "The sudden replacement of Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho was not based on a specific strategy or meticulous calculation, but rather the result of Kim Jong-un's vague hope and impulsive decision that perhaps changing the commander-in-chief might bring a miracle, as the stalled North Korea-US negotiations showed no breakthrough."

When news of this personnel change broke, experts generally evaluated that North Korea had taken a 'strategic' personnel action with a view toward a major shift in North Korea-US and inter-Korean relations. In contrast, former Ambassador Tae said, "I hope people refrain from exaggerated interpretations that see this as any kind of phase transition in North Korea."

He argued, "This personnel move is so beyond common sense that I still find it hard to believe," calling it "Kim Jong-un's punitive action for the failure of US policy." He continued, "Kim Jong-un, feeling the pressure of the year-end deadline, told the Foreign Ministry to 'try all possible threats against the US,' but even after carrying them out, the US did not change," explaining, "As the North Korean proverb goes, 'kicking a dog next to the mother-in-law's anger,' in the end, Chairman Kim took out his frustration on Foreign Minister Ri."

Former Ambassador Tae also predicted that the Foreign Ministry's series of threatening messages toward the US at the end of last year were likely due to Kim Jong-un's urging. He said, "The North Korean Foreign Ministry issued a series of outlandish threatening remarks at the end of the year," adding, "It is more likely that these were 'Kim Jong-un appeasement measures' to soothe Kim's irritability and frustration rather than initiatives led by the Foreign Ministry."

Concerns have also been raised that even the North Korean Foreign Ministry, which had been regarded as somewhat pragmatic, could engage in reckless behavior driven by a 'loyalty competition' due to this incident. Former Ambassador Tae said, "Until now, only diplomacy in North Korea had not shown irrational excessive loyalty," but "seeing the dismissal of Ri Yong-ho, the shocked North Korean diplomats will each try to show excessive loyalty." He further predicted, "From now on, North Korean diplomacy will deviate from professionalism and lead to excessive loyalty competition, making its course difficult to predict."