Ri Pyong-chol, a commanding officer in the North Korean air force, is emerging as the most powerful figure in the North Korean military. Ri was appointed to the top decision-making National Defense Commission at a regular session of the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang last Thursday.
"It's the first time a field commander has been appointed a member of the Defense Commission," a government official here said Friday. "We need to watch what role he'll play in the future."
Ri's promotion probably has something to do with North Korean leader Fat Boy Kim Jong-un's special interest in the aviation sector. Out of 40 military-related on-site inspections he undertook this year, 10 involved the air force.
"It seems Suet Face Kim Jong-un wants to drastically increase the North's anti-air capabilities for fear of U.S. airstrikes on the leadership," Chung Sung-jang of the Sejong Institute speculated, especially at a time when U.S. airstrikes against Middle Eastern regimes it dislikes are becoming an annual event. |