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Analysis Deciphering the return of No Kwang Chol as North Korea’s minister of defenseNo brings experience on weapons procurement as shakeup coincides with reported ROK drone interception failure  North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament approved leader Kim Jong Un’s apparent choice of new defense minister No Kwang Chol last week, marking the official’s comeback following a demotion to a role he held five years ago. No has roots in the weapons production industry and rose to prominence in the DPRK military under Kim Jong Un, culminating in a stint as minister of People’s Armed Forces, the former name of the Ministry of National Defense (MND), from 2018 to 2019. He was subsequently removed and demoted two ranks until his sudden return to army general and minister at the latest Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) session. No replaced Kang Sun Nam as defense minister days after the first of three alleged South Korean drone incursions over Pyongyang, suggesting the reshuffle may be related. 
NO’S CREDENTIALS A key feature of Kim Jong Un’s rule has been frequent reshuffles of top leadership positions, resulting in trusted officials sometimes moving from one ministry to another or even trading roles. However, No Kwang Chol’s promotion marks the first time during Kim’s tenure that a former defense minister has returned to the role after being previously removed. His first stint lasted from June 2018 until Dec. 2019, a period of toned down promotion of nuclear weapons development and detente with the U.S. and South Korea. The choice of No signals Kim Jong Un’s desire for someone with experience and knowledge of weapons manufacturing and deployment processes to hold the position. The DPRK defense minister “is positioned primarily to manage defense acquisitions, resourcing and financing allocations for all North Korean armed forces,” according to the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, while Kim Jong Un retains full authority over strategic decisions. His promotion comes as munitions factories and the MND are handling simultaneous orders to boost exports of rockets and missiles to Russia and outfit domestic military units with these and a range of other new weapons systems. No appeared in the crowd at the SPA this month just before his promotion with two stars on his shoulder board, and then with four in his official portrait as new defense minister, marking a two-rank promotion.  Prior to this month, he was last spotted in a group photo with Kim Jong Un at the defense ministry headquarters in Feb. 2024. He was standing in the center but in the fourth row, suggesting he was not in a very important role. His previous known position was commander of the 191st Command Intelligence Brigade (제191지휘정보려단) at the Feb. 2023 military parade, also called Korean People’s Army (KPA) Unit 540 (제540군부대) according to the unit’s flag on display at the event. Soldiers from the unit appeared with KPA ground forces arm patches and ordinary rifles with no special equipment like some other units, but little else is known about the brigade. 
No was a two-star general at that time as well, but he didn’t appear in a group photo of Kim Jong Un with top KPA commanders, again indicating his relatively unimportant position. Prior to his first stint as a four-star army general heading the defense ministry, he was promoted to lieutenant general (two-star) and vice chief of the KPA General Staff in Dec. 2012 and colonel general (three-star) in July 2013. NK Pro analysis shows No guided former leader Kim Jong Il around the Kangdong Weak Current Apparatus Factory in Jan. 2010, suggesting he was a top manager of the plant at the time. This has not been reported elsewhere before. 
“Weak current apparatus” factories (약전기구공장), also sometimes translated by state media as “light electrical appliance,” are a North Korean euphemism for munitions plants usually producing electronics used in weapons systems. The Kangdong facility is located in the heart of the Second Economy Commission headquarters region, the DPRK organization in charge of managing all of the country’s weapons production and foreign sales. But little is known about the factory and it has not been mentioned in state media since Kim’s 2010 visit. The ministry was renamed from the Ministry of the People’s Armed Forces (인민무력성) to the Ministry of National Defense (국방성) in Jan 2021. Below is a list of defense ministers under Kim Jong Un:
RESHUFFLE RELATED TO DRONE INCIDENT? North Korea belatedly announced on Oct. 11 what it described as a major breach of sovereignty by a South Korean government-led operation to drop anti-DPRK leaflets over Pyongyang during the nighttime hours of Oct. 3, 9 and 10. It is possible that Kang Sun Nam was removed from the role on Oct. 8 after being found responsible for failing to supply relevant military units with proper equipment to prevent drones from entering Pyongyang’s airspace on Oct. 3. While No was in charge when ROK drones allegedly flew over the capital again on Oct. 9 and 10, even standing by Kim’s side at an outdoor event on the 10th that possibly coincided with the final reported flyover, he would not yet have had time to implement changes and thus likely would not be held to account in the same way.  However, Kim Jong Un has appeared to retain confidence in other top military officials, like KPA General Staff Ri Yong Gil, who would have been in charge of defending against the successive drone incursions regardless of their equipment. This suggests Kim has not treated the alleged incursions as a major failure worthy of a slew of high-level demotions, like he has in the past. Pyongyang has yet to disclose proof of South Korean military involvement and its claims have not been independently verified. The DPRK foreign ministry was the first to accuse South Korea of drone incursions in an Oct. 11 statement, after which the leader’s sister Kim Yo Jong released a series of threats via state media. The defense ministry finally weighed in on Oct. 14 to repeat Kim Yo Jong’s threats to attack Seoul and state that artillery units near the border were placed on high alert.  Kim Jong Un signaled at a national security council meeting on Oct. 14 that the key officials expected to take charge of the situation going forward were General Staff Ri, Director of the General Reconnaissance Bureau Ri Chang Ho, Minister of State Security Ri Chang Dae and unnamed commanding officers of the Artillery Bureau and the brand new Detection and Electronic Warfare Bureau (탐지전자전국). One of No Kwang Chol’s first publicized acts as minister was to report to the leader at the meeting on current “measures for modernizing weaponry.” It is also possible that Kang was removed not for failures related to the alleged drone incident but instead because of problems with other new weapon deployment demands by the DPRK leader. Kang appeared on stage at the Oct. 7-8 SPA session as a four-star general before his removal, but his fate following his demotion remains unclear. He has not appeared in state media since, but it is not unusual for demoted top officials to reappear in different high-level positions later, as demonstrated by No. Edited by Alannah Hill © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. 
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March 12, 2025Mar 12, 2025
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