High-ranking NK officer visited coastal artillery unit last month

A high-ranking North Korean military officer visited a coastal artillery unit last month just before the unit fired shells in waters south of the de-facto inter-Korean sea border, said a South Korean military source on Sunday.

Seoul intelligence learned that the North Korean officer inspected the combat preparedness of a coast artillery base on a Yellow Sea island on Aug. 10.

“It was an unprecedented move for a high-ranking North Korean military officer to visit Yongmae Island base, which is close to the Northern Limit Line,” the source said. “(South Korean) military intelligence focused on identifying the senior officer and finding out about his whereabouts."

The officer who visited Yongmae was likely Kim Kyuk Sik, commander of the 4th Corps of the (North) Korean People’s Army. After being appointed to his post in early 2009, Kim led a naval skirmish with the South Korean Navy in November the same year.

He is also believed to have been deeply involved in the North’s torpedo attack on the South Korean naval corvette Cheonan and shelling of the frontline island of Yeonpyeong.

In addition, either Ri Yong Ho, chief of the Korean People`s Army General Staff, or Kim Yong Chol, director of the reconnaissance general bureau of the North`s People’s Armed Forces Ministry, are known to have inspected the unit.

Kim Kyuk Sik and the other two are considered the three most powerful men in the North Korean military.

ysh1005@donga.com