What the new photos of North Korea's leaders say
13 May 2016
North Korea has released a new set of photos of Kim Jong-un and party and military leaders. The BBC spoke to US-based North Korea expert Michael Madden about what the pictures tell us, after the recent and rare party congress. "Kim Jong-un is putting himself on the cover of the party newspaper, warts and all," says Mr Madden, of the photo of the leader. But he says media reports that this is the first time North Korea has released unedited images of its leaders are "nonsense". For example, a group of photos released in 2009 showed some senior officials with dilated pupils, as if they had been drinking. There are none in the released images. The highest position held by women at the moment in North Korea is party department director or vice-director. Mr Kim's sister Kim Yo-jong, for example, is vice-director of the propaganda department. "Realistically, women - as department directors and deputy directors - have more power than some of the vice-chairmen, because they handle the day-to-day running of the departments.  They are Kim's eyes and ears in the political system," says Mr Madden. It's also believed to be the women who handle the wealth of the Kim family. "North Korea is a patriarchal culture, but in a totalitarian system, being able to wield power as gatekeepers or financial functionaries is more powerful than sitting on a political bureau, you have realistic powers day-to-day." But, says Mr Madden, women made up 10% of the delegates at the party congress - not a huge number but a significant advance on the last congress in 1980. Kim's sister given key N Korea post Other than its youthful head, North Korea's leadership is notable for its age. Many officials are in their 80s. An exception is No Kwan-chol, a three-star general and member of the political bureau at the age of 35. Not much is known about him, but he rose to prominence under Mr Kim. There are a few of these "millennials" coming up through the lower ranks of the party and military and poised for future power, says Mr Madden. This is Ri Yong-gil, a three-star general and a member of the political bureau. Last February, he was widely reported as being dead. South Korean sources said he had been executed for "conspiracy". "We have to take rumours about dead North Korean officials with pinch of salt," says Mr Madden. It's not hard for poorly sourced information to be aired. "Some of these officials who disappear from state media are sent away for a few months for re-education, what we might call corporate training. Sometimes they are destined for high office, or a new job." Given the timing of his disappearance from the public eye, he says - during a period of particularly high tensions at the border with the South - he had likely been sent away to deal with the issue. He has, however, been demoted from his four-star general post, for unclear reasons, and his new job wasn't listed.  "This demotion by epaulette" is standard practice under the leader and Gen Ri might yet see his star restored. The photos - and state media's reporting of them - have to be seen in the context of a party congress which reset North Korea's political system, says Mr Madden. In a change from his father's time, Mr Kim is asserting the dominance of the party over the military. He has "concentrated a lot of political power in the hands of six or seven officials".  In all state media reporting the party officials appear before military officials. Many of them have been given two or even three titles. This is a sign that there is a specific power cohort and they are going to have a lot more power than they did before the congress. Though it might appear superficial  and cosmetic to observers, "in North Korea, the form and the content are inseparable". North Korea's rare congress - what is it for? Primarily North Koreans, so they know that "if this guy shows up where you work you might want to pay attention to him". The names might not mean a lot to the North Korean population, "but it does establish who the top people are in the regime. It's subtle message to people of who is in the know". - Kim Ki-nam, aged 87-88. He was party secretary for propaganda and agitation for some time and is now a member of the political bureau, vice-chairman of the party and department director. - Ri man-gon - a politbureau member, party vice-chairman and director of munitions and military, giving him personal oversight of North Korea's development of nuclear and conventional weapons. - Kim Yong-chol - he was appointed in January as head of national intelligence, following the death in a car accident of his predecessor, Kim Yang-gon.
Primarily North Koreans, so they know that "if this guy shows up where you work you might want to pay attention to him". The names might not mean a lot to the North Korean population, "but it does establish who the top people are in the regime. It's subtle message to people of who is in the know".
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So who are the pictures for?