Mario A. | Setyoufree News
It seems that illness was not the real reason of sudden replacement of N.Korea´s army chief Ri Yong-ho.
Supposedly a removed army chief didn´t want to go quietly and based on The Chonsun report it came to a conflict between him and Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae.
A gunbattle broke out when the North Korean regime removed army chief Ri Yong-ho from office, leaving 20 to 30 soldiers dead, according to unconfirmed intelligence reports. Some intelligence analysts believe Ri, who has not been seen since his abrupt sacking earlier this week, was injured or killed in the confrontation.
Guards protecting Ri apparently opened fire when the new commander-in-chief, Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, attempted to detain him on orders from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to Seoul-based government officials.
Choe is believed to be the right-hand man of Jang Song-taek, the uncle and patron of the North Korean leader, the website reported.
Choe made his career in the Workers Party rather than the army, and after being appointed director of the bureau, repeatedly clashed with Ri, whose career was based on his role as a field commander, the newspaper reported. Choe kept Ri under surveillance and apparently triggered an internal probe of Ri, Chosun.com reported.
The military had grown tremendously in power under former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s “songun” or military-first doctrine, and military heavyweights like Ri who grew in stature during this period were considered threats to the young North Korean leader.
“The firefight has still not been 100 percent confirmed,” said a government official here. “It may take some time for us to gain a clearer picture of what happened.”
Print
Email
Get news updates by email. Enter your email address below to subscribe: 
