North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to be stepping up efforts to weaken the military’s political and economic influence as he seeks to establish a more flexible and efficient state management.

In recent months, Kim has reportedly purged or demoted some high-level military officers in what analysts call a move to enable the North’s cabinet and ruling party smoothly lead economic and other affairs.

“The recent moves appear to be aimed at quieting down the aftereffect of the purge of former top commander Ri Yong-ho,” said Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean defector and director of the World North Korea Research Center.

“It is part of the process to shift (the power) to the cabinet and the ruling Communist Party. All of this process would substantially aggravate the military’s grievances.”

During severe famine in the mid-1990s, former leader Kim Jong-il had promoted the military-first policy, which analysts say was partially aimed at mobilizing troops for state projects.

In the process, the conservative military has gained considerable political and economic influence, which the new leader apparently views as an impediment to his state management and reform drive.

Choe Ryong-hae, a civilian-turned-general who now heads the General Political Bureau, appears to be spearheading the control of the military, observers said.

Experts said Choe might have had some conflict with former General Staff Chief Ri as the civilian-turned-officer wields enormous power within the military. Ri was sacked earlier this year.

The General Political Bureau under the direct control of the Workers’ Party is one of the most powerful military organs, which oversees military personnel affairs, including promotion and position assignment and disciplinary action.

According to reports, six out of the nine corps-level commanders have been replaced with new ones.

General Staff Chief Hyon Yong-chol was demoted from vice marshal (a rank above a four-star general) to general in October, three months after his promotion. Kim Yong-chol, the head of the General Reconnaissance Bureau, has also been demoted from general to lieutenant general.

Observers said that such demotions could be part of disciplinary action for the recent defection by a North Korean soldier.

Some expressed concern that growing grievances in the military due to ongoing efforts to weaken the military’s vested interests could come to a head and make political circumstances in the impoverished state more unstable.

But Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea expert at Dongguk University, said that that possibility is very low.

“It is like replacing one after another, not a full-scale purge. Given the tightly-controlled system with the General Political Bureau carefully monitoring movements of military elites, any collective rebellious action against the regime is highly unlikely,” he said.

In addition to the alleged purge and demotion of top-ranking officers, the North has also been conducting a full-scale examination of officials in the party, state and military organizations to check their loyalty to the dynastic ruler.

“Since Kim Jong-un officially takes over power in April, the North’s regime has been inspecting high-profile figures to ascertain their loyalty toward him and any corrupt activities,” an official at the Unification Ministry told reporters.

“Such an inspection seems to have begun from Pyongyang and is being conducted in provincial regions.”

The official said that the inspection appears to be a process of replacing old people with those associated with the young leader, rather than calling the move a large-scale purge.

To bolster the economic role of the cabinet and party, the North also moved two trade-related bodies under the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces to a party division in charge of trade.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)