IISS: Hwang Pyong-so may have taken over North Korea's leadership

Commenting on the recent situation in North Korea, Director of the Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Mark Fitzpatrick said on October 13 that Vice Chairman of the North Korean National Defense Commission Hwang Pyong-so could be the number 1 powerful figure in this Northeast Asian country.

According to Mr. Fitzpatrick, during the time leader Kim Jong Un was absent from the media, there was no sign of any movement of the North Korean military near Pyongyang or the risk of a coup.

North Korean National Defense Commission Vice Chairman Hwang Pyong-so has his own bodyguard during his visit to South Korea. (Photo: koreatimesus.com)

However, former British Ambassador to North Korea John Everard said that the unusual behavior of three North Korean officials who recently visited Incheon (South Korea) could say a lot. The North Korean delegation used leader Kim Jong Un's private plane and the three officials were accompanied by bodyguards.

Leading the North Korean delegation is Mr. Hwang Pyong-so - the second-ranking man in Pyongyang's power structure.

According to former Ambassador Everard's prediction, the Organization and Guidance Department (OGD) under the Workers' Party of Korea may have decided to remove Kim Jong Un from the No. 1 position in terms of actual leadership power and ordered the military to "stand still". Mr. Fitzpatrick said that if this happens, Hwang Pyong-so will truly be the No. 1 figure holding leadership power in North Korea./.

According to VNA