Overview

• In a May 28 Central Military Commission meeting presided over by Kim Jong-un, six corps-level commanders were appointed and the artillery and security bureau directors were replaced.
• Jong Kyong-thaek, head of the KPA’s General Political Bureau, was demoted from general to colonel general after state media photos revealed his lower rank.
• Kim ordered that the warship which capsized at Chongjin Shipyard on May 21 be fully restored before the ruling party’s plenary session in June.
• The commission pledged to cement a “steel-like discipline” in the armed forces and strengthen party oversight of all military activities.
• An investigation into the launch accident has led to detentions, including the vice director of the party’s munitions industry department.