On the Korean Peninsula, where no formal peace has existed for seven decades, Kim Jong Un has reshuffled his military's highest ranks and ordered his forces into a posture of war readiness — a move that is at once a consolidation of personal power and a signal to adversaries. The dismissal of General Pak Su Il and the elevation of Vice Marshal Ri Yong Gil, a figure who once appeared to have been erased from history, reflects the fluid and deliberate way Kim manages loyalty and control. As North Korea tests missiles capable of reaching the American mainland and South Korea prepares its 51 milli
Kim Jong Un fires top general, escalates war rhetoric amid peninsula tensions
preventing anyone below him from becoming too powerful
Mark
So Kim Jong Un fired his top general. Is that unusual? Does it mean something specific is about to happen?
Mimi
North Korea reshuffles its military leadership fairly regularly, actually. What's notable here is the timing and the messaging around it—the state media report was really focused on preparing for war, not on the personnel change itself.
Luke
Right, and we should be careful about reading too much into the firing alone. The general he replaced, Ri Yong Gil, was rumored to have been executed seven years ago, then reappeared. So these aren't necessarily permanent falls from grace.
Mark
Then why does Kim do it at all? What's the point of constantly rotating people?
Mimi
Analysts think it's about control. If you keep military leaders moving around, no one gets powerful enough to challenge you. It's preventative—he's making sure no one accumulates the kind of independent power base that could threaten his authority.
Luke
That's the theory, anyway. We don't have direct statements from Kim explaining his reasoning. We're inferring motive from pattern.
Mark
Fair. But the war rhetoric—that's real, right? The threats about shooting down planes, the missile tests?
Mimi
Yes. North Korea has been escalating all summer. They tested an ICBM they say can hit the mainland U.S., they're threatening to shoot down American reconnaissance aircraft, and they're angry about a U.S. nuclear submarine visiting South Korea.
Luke
Those are North Korea's claims about their own weapons. We should note that independent verification of their capabilities is limited. But the rhetoric and the weapons displays are definitely happening.
Mark
And South Korea is taking it seriously enough to run a civil defense drill with 51 million people?
Mimi
Yes. August 23rd. It's a 20-minute evacuation exercise. Seoul explicitly called it a response to North Korean provocations.
Luke
Which tells you something about the temperature on the peninsula right now. Whether or not war is imminent, both sides are acting as if the risk is real enough to prepare for.
El Pulso
- Kim Jong Un has fired his top general and commanded his military to 'gird for war,' raising the stakes on a peninsula that has never formally ended its last one.
- The appointment of Vice Marshal Ri Yong Gil — a man once rumored executed — signals that in Pyongyang, careers can vanish and resurface as instruments of the leader's will.
- Analysts warn Kim is deliberately rotating military leadership to prevent any subordinate from amassing the kind of independent power that led to Prigozhin's mutiny against Putin.
- North Korea has tested an ICBM potentially capable of striking the U.S. mainland, threatened to shoot down American reconnaissance aircraft, and condemned a nuclear submarine's port call to South Korea as an act of provocation.
- South Korea has announced a nationwide civil defense drill for August 23, asking 51 million residents to rehearse evacuation — a sign that tension has moved from rhetoric into the realm of civilian preparation.
On the Korean Peninsula, where no formal peace has existed for seven decades, Kim Jong Un has reshuffled his military's highest ranks and ordered his forces into a posture of war readiness — a move that is at once a consolidation of personal power and a signal to adversaries. The dismissal of General Pak Su Il and the elevation of Vice Marshal Ri Yong Gil, a figure who once appeared to have been erased from history, reflects the fluid and deliberate way Kim manages loyalty and control. As North Korea tests missiles capable of reaching the American mainland and South Korea prepares its 51 million citizens for civil defense drills, the peninsula's long-frozen conflict shows signs of thawing into something more volatile.
North Korea's state media announced Thursday that Kim Jong Un has dismissed his top military commander, General Pak Su Il, replacing him with Vice Marshal Ri Yong Gil in a broader shakeup of senior military leadership. The changes were revealed following a Wednesday session of the Central Military Commission, where other officers were also dismissed, transferred, or promoted — though details remained undisclosed.
Ri Yong Gil's return to the apex of military power is itself a story. Seven years ago, analysts believed he had been executed after a previous reshuffle. His reemergence illustrates how Kim manages his officer corps — not through simple punishment, but through deliberate cycles of elevation and removal designed to keep subordinates dependent and off-balance. Analysts compare this approach to Kim's apparent wariness of figures like Yevgeny Prigozhin, who built enough independent power to challenge Vladimir Putin directly.
Beyond the personnel changes, the meeting's central directive was stark: prepare for war. State media described a 'grave political and military situation' on the Korean Peninsula and called on the armed forces to meet it with 'thoroughgoing and perfect military readiness.' Kim signed orders for war exercises involving the country's newest weapons systems and has recently toured munitions factories to accelerate production.
The rhetoric follows months of escalating provocation. North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile last month with a flight profile suggesting it could reach the American mainland, displayed it at a 'Victory Day' parade marking 70 years since the Korean War armistice, and threatened to shoot down U.S. reconnaissance aircraft. The two Koreas technically remain at war — no peace treaty has ever been signed.
South Korea has responded with its own signal: a nationwide civil defense drill scheduled for August 23, in which most of the country's 51 million residents will practice evacuating to shelters. Seoul framed the exercise explicitly as a response to Pyongyang's provocations — a moment when the peninsula's long-simmering tensions became something ordinary citizens are being asked to rehearse surviving.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un has removed his top military officer and ordered the armed forces into a posture of war readiness, according to state media announcements made Thursday. General Pak Su Il, who held the position of chief of the General Staff, has been dismissed. Vice Marshal Ri Yong Gil, who had only recently assumed the second-ranking position in the military hierarchy on December 31, now takes the top job. The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that other senior commanders were also dismissed, transferred, or promoted during a Wednesday meeting of the Central Military Commission, though specifics were not disclosed.
Ri Yong Gil's ascent to the highest military post marks another chapter in a career marked by dramatic reversals. Seven years ago, he was rumored to have been executed following a personnel reshuffle, according to analysts who study North Korea's opaque power structures. Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, described Ri as a longstanding member of North Korea's military elite who has weathered multiple ups and downs. The pattern reflects how Kim Jong Un manages his military apparatus—promoting, demoting, and removing officers based on performance rather than treating dismissals as purely punitive measures, according to Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute think tank near Seoul.
Analysts suggest the reshuffle may serve a strategic purpose beyond routine personnel management. Easley noted that Kim Jong Un frequently rotates leadership positions to prevent any subordinate from accumulating enough power to challenge his authority—a safeguard against the emergence of figures like Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group founder who challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin after building independent financial and military resources. By keeping military leaders in flux, Kim maintains centralized control.
The military leadership changes, however, were almost secondary to the main directive from Wednesday's meeting: preparing the armed forces for war. The state media report emphasized what it called the "grave political and military situation prevailing in the Korean Peninsula," calling for the army to "gird for a war" with "more positive, proactive and overwhelming will" and "thoroughgoing and perfect military readiness." While South Korea and the United States were not named directly, the report referenced "hostile forces" engaged in "reckless military confrontation" with North Korea.
This escalation in rhetoric reflects months of intensifying military posturing. North Korea has threatened to shoot down American reconnaissance aircraft and vowed retaliation for the port visit of a U.S. nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine to South Korea—the first such call in four decades. Last month, North Korea tested what it claimed was a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile with a flight time suggesting capability to strike the American mainland. That weapon was displayed at a parade North Korea called its "Victory Day" commemoration, marking 70 years since the armistice that halted active combat in the Korean War. Technically, the two nations remain at war, as no formal peace treaty has ever been signed.
At the Wednesday meeting, Kim Jong Un signed orders for war exercises involving the country's newest weapons systems. He had also recently toured ammunition and arms factories, issuing directives on expanding production capacity for new munitions. These moves signal a military posture shift from rhetoric to operational preparation.
South Korea has responded to the escalating tensions with its own preparations. The government announced a nationwide civil defense drill scheduled for August 23, in which most of the country's 51 million residents are expected to practice evacuation to shelters and underground safe spaces during a 20-minute exercise. Seoul explicitly framed the drill as a response to provocations from Pyongyang. The drill represents a tangible manifestation of how the peninsula's tensions have moved beyond statements and weapons tests into civilian-level emergency readiness.
Citas Notables
Ri Yong Gil is a longstanding member of North Korea's military elite who has experienced ups and downs during his career, including rumors seven years ago of execution after a personnel reshuffle— Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University
Kim Jong Un frequently rotates leadership posts to prevent the emergence of anyone who could challenge his authority by accumulating personal control of financial assets and loyalty among armed forces— Leif-Eric Easley
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en CNN Philippines ↗
War & Conflict