Kim in Vladivostok, Who's the Boss?

(Source- Channel A News 4.26) Choe Son Hui (left circle) arrives in the same limo with Kim Jong Un at the Vladivostok venue for the summit. Her nominal boss, Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, (right circle) apparently rode in the front, while Choe sat in the rear with Kim Jong Un. The streamer says Choi Son Hui reforms Kim Jong Un's dictator image, paraphrasing Thae Yong Ho, expert guest. Thae is a former diplomat who defected from the DPRK embassy in London to South Korea. He had a one on one interview with the host of the Channel A News Top Ten program on April 26 to evaluate developments connected with the Kim-Putin summit.


(Source- Channel A News 4.26) (title- the real reason for Kim Yong Chol's absence?) Why did Chairman Kim bring along Choi Son Hui, First Vice Foreign Minister? To dispel his image as dictator? Choe sits to the right of Sergei Lavrov. Ri Yong Ho, DPRK Foreign Minister sits to Putin's left.

The most interesting contribution of Thae Yong Ho's analysis was his commentary on the elevation of Choe Son Hui to the inner circle of elite power holders in North Korea. Thae cited by way of historical precedent, three women as significant aides to Kim Il Sung during the early days of communist rule in North Korea. Most significant of these was Shin Jin Soon, a graduate of the elite Kyongseong International University, who was said to speak seven languages, and played a major role in North Korean international relations, particularly with Russia, as early as 1945. Her relationship with Kim Il Sung went back to the struggle against the Japanese Empire. Russia was referred to as brother in the struggle against Imperial Japan in Kim Jong Un's Vladivostok speech, as a historical bond that tied the two countries together.


(Source- Channel A News 4.26) Kim Il Sung, Shin Jin Soon, advocated in those days as Soviet foreign relations voice ( literally "wind pipe." )

The elevation of Choe Son Hui to the elite power level in North Korea is a product of her outstanding academic achievement at elite academic institutions, the failure of the Hanoi summit to which Kim Yong Chol's decline is attributed, and the model provided by Kim Il Sung's promotion of elite women to facilitate foreign policy goals. Shin Jin Soon, historically was described as the "wind pipe" to Russia. Kim Jong Un was said to be going to Vladivostok for an "oxygen supply." Ostensibly, the presence of an influential and worldly woman with the Kim delegation, presents a softer image of the dictatorship, in a world where many countries are devoid of women in positions of power.


(Source- Channel A News 4.26) Kim Jong Un: An intelligent woman is good. Thae Yong Ho: "It looks like Kim will be using Choe Son Hui often for nuclear negotiations."

It might be worthwhile to consider the important role played by Choe in comparison to the other women around Kim as his personal support group. Kim is in an isolated position and younger and less experienced than most of the international figures he meets, for example, Xi Jinping, and Vladimir Putin. Thae notes the same has held true inside Kim's own ruling party, where older generation officials have dominated and the much younger heir to power has been engaged in a protracted effort to remove or replace them. Thae characterized the current North Korean leadership circles in term of an older generation typically in their sixties, that is, around thirty years older than Kim. Choe is a little younger than this at age 54, it is believed, and serves as an experienced bridge domestically and internationally as an adviser. The other women in Kim's life: wife, Ri Sol Ju; sister, Kim Yo Jong; and confidante, Hyon Song Wol, are like Kim himself substantially younger. Kim Yo Jang seems to be a highly visible pragmatic assistant when it comes to logistics, protocol, and propaganda. She was noticeably absent in Vladivostok. Choe, more so than the younger women, now has not only the role of a maternal mentor for a relatively young Kim, but the experience to provide the intellectual support and advice in a most challenging if not desperate international situation.