A North Korean battalion liable for the Paengnyonho Guesthouse in Pyongyang has been disbanded, following a proposal authorized by Kim Jong Un in mid-August. The choice was as a consequence of important safety and secrecy points on the guesthouse, with a brand new unit taking up its administration.
The Paengnyonho Guesthouse is reserved for the usage of choose high-ranking officers within the Supreme Guard Command.
“Bizarre officers within the Supreme Guard Command are strictly prohibited from getting into the ability,” a high-ranking supply in North Korea instructed The Every day NK on Monday, talking on situation of anonymity for safety causes.
“Simply because the protection ministry has its personal particular guesthouse, this guesthouse is maintained for the unique use of the highest-ranking officers within the Supreme Guard Command. Safety and secrecy have been high priorities at a facility that was solely accessible to a tiny fraction of officers on the Supreme Guard Command.”
The guard battalion on the guesthouse was liable for sustaining security and safety whereas strictly controlling all technique of entry. The choice to disband a battalion with these tasks implies the prevalence of a critical inner challenge — the form of challenge which may trigger Kim Jong Un to lose confidence within the Supreme Guard Command, which is liable for defending him and his household.
The guard battalion’s dissolution adopted a number of incidents within the first half of the 12 months through which high-ranking officers with the Supreme Guard Command made use of the guesthouse with out permission.
The difficulty was first raised by state safety brokers hooked up to the guesthouse guard battalion in July, which prompted the Supreme Guard Command’s safety division to launch a direct investigation.
The investigation discovered that sure high-ranking officers from the Supreme Guard Command had colluded with the commanders of the guesthouse guard battalion to place the guesthouse to non-public use. Even worse, it turned out that these officers had allowed civilians into the guesthouse, creating the chance of a leak of details about the inside and exterior of a guesthouse that was imagined to be a state secret.
Full overhaul of safety protocols at facility
In recognition of the severity of the incident, the Supreme Guard Command’s state safety division instantly submitted a proposal to Kim Jong Un.
Upon receiving the proposal, Kim ordered the abstract disbandment of the guesthouse guard battalion, which was extensively regarded contained in the Supreme Guard Command as an unusually harsh measure.
“The guard and safety protocols on the Paengnyonho Guesthouse are presently being overhauled, and an organization has already been deployed as a short lived alternative for the disbanded guard battalion,” the supply stated. “However that’s only a short-term measure, and the guesthouse might be transferred to a very totally different command. As such, the Supreme Guard Command is awaiting orders from the highest.”
He added: “The Supreme Guard Command is taking this chance to spice up inner surveillance and management of its numerous constituent guard items and plans to assessment its total alertness degree to make sure that nothing of the type occurs once more.”
A number of senior officers of the Supreme Guard Command who visited the guesthouse with out permission and the commanders of the guard battalion who have been in cahoots with them are presently being interrogated on the Supreme Guard Command’s state safety division. The opposite troopers within the battalion have already been reassigned to varied different items within the command.
The Every day NK works with a community of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For safety causes, their identities stay nameless.
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