The North Korean regime announced that it will reorganize its military forces and the number of generals in its ranks

North Korea promoted six officers to the rank of general, including former Defense Minister Kim Jong-gwan, state agency KCNA reported Thursday, on the eve of the 110th anniversary of the birth of the country's late founder, Kim Il-sung.

This anniversary is one of the most important celebrations in the country, and that movement would seek to show the unity of the armed forces in the current context of tension with South Korea and other countries in the region, heightened by their recent missile tests and rumored preparations for an imminent nuclear test.

The appointments have been confirmed by dictator Kim Jong-un in the framework of a military reorganization in which Kim Myong-sik, Kim Kwang-hyok, Jong Kyong-thaek, O Il-jong and Kang Sun-nam have also been promoted to general; among other promotions to lieutenant general and major general, according to the said media.

Kim expressed his “firm conviction that all commanding officers, the hard core of the armed forces of the DPRK (acronym for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the country's official name), will fully fulfill their duties in the honorable struggle to turn the revolutionary armed forces into elite forces.”

Kim currently holds the rank of marshal, the second most important. Only his late grandfather and father, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, have held the position of grand marshal, the highest.

North Korea is in the last few days in a festive atmosphere, not only because of this Friday's outstanding anniversary, which usually marks with a big parade that attracts international attention, but also because of the commemoration of Kim Jong-un's rise to power.

After his father's death on December 17, 2011, Kim was immediately described as a “great successor” by state propaganda and on December 30 of that year he was appointed supreme commander of the army, effectively becoming the new leader.

However, the regime considers that he formally went on to lead the country on 11 April 2012, when he was appointed first secretary of the party and member of the Presidium.

North Korea accused the United States of imposing “baseless” sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, and called US President Joe Biden “senile old man” through its state media

The Pyongyang regime, which had previously criticized Washington for allegedly provoking the war in Ukraine, noted that this conflict “has suddenly become a human rights issue,” stating that the “final loser” of the crisis will be the United States.

An opinion comment published by state agency KCNA points to the United States and other Western countries as “brains of the aggression that caused violence, war, humanitarian disaster and instability” in former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The note, signed by Kim Myong Chol — who is recognized as an unofficial spokesperson for North Korea — assures that the “war crimes” denounced by the international community in Ukraine “are the product of a politically motivated plot” to “defame Russia's foreign prestige and bring about the collapse of its regime.”

(With information from EFE)

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