by Lee Young-jong and Jeong Yong-su

April 8, 2005

Original Article (English)

An apparently authentic North Korean manual for military personnel warns that if the United States strikes the communist regime, it would put a higher priority on eliminating Pyongyang’s military leadership than on destroying its nuclear facilities.

The JoongAng Ilbo obtained the 39-page education guide, published by the North Korean Peoples’ Army in 2004. The booklet says “the heart of the revolution” is the prime target, in clear reference to North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-il.

South Korean intelligence officials and experts said that the document appeared genuine.

Either the North Korean military or the governing Workers’ Party publishes this type of political training material for the private use of regular officers.

In the manual, North Korea asserts that the CIA has told the Pentagon to focus on eliminating North Korea’s military leadership, rather than any nuclear facility.

“The United States and its running dogs have created new terror information organizations and are infiltrating our country with spies and terrorists,” the booklet says. “Officers must teach their soldiers in great detail about U.S. use of advanced murder weapons and psychological warfare on North Korean operations.”

In order to encourage the loyalty of the army, the manual refers to the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, and warns military leaders about possible attempts to bribe them to remove North Korean elites.

“Saddam’s 100,000 soldiers had pledged loyalty to their leader, but abandoned the president as the enemies’ psychological warfare reached a peak,” the manual says. “Benefiting from bribery in Iraq, the United States has been trying to use the same tactic in North Korea. The main targets of such bribery operatives are our military officers.”

After reviewing the document, experts on North Korea in the South said that it indicates  that leaders in Pyongyang are fearful.

“The shock and frustration of North Korea’s power elite after seeing the fall of Saddam is quiet evident in many passages of the document,” said Jeung Young-tai, a senior research fellow with the state-run think tank, the Korea Institute for National Unification. “On the surface, it stresses the importance of loyalty to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, but beneath you can smell the leadership’s fear of losing internal allegiances.”

Referring to the collapse of regimes in the Soviet Union, Romania and Iraq, the manual warns the North Korean secret service about propaganda and possible bribery attempts by foreign agents.

“The enemies are employing all possible measures to obtain confidential information in regard to the protection of top North Korean officials,” the booklet says.

Kim Jong-il is guarded by the country’s secret service, and his bodyguards are mostly veteran soldiers, South Korean intelligence officials said. “When an unmanned U.S. aircraft bombed a vehicle transporting the Taliban leadership during the Afghanistan war, the North Korean secret service went into a panic,” a South Korean intelligence official said, adding that the North Koreans reinforced Mr. Kim’s security after Saddam’s capture in December 2003.

Following the fall of Saddam’s regime in May 2003, North Korean media have been airing news about Kim Jong-il’s movements, such as his touring of military installations and industrial venues, though no dates are mentioned.

Since the state-run media reported that Kim visited a particular Army unit on July 17, 2003, his specific schedule has not been made public, except for meetings with foreign visitors.

The manual, as in many other North Korean official documents, strongly praises the North Korean leader, asking the troops to show their devotion to the commander.

“Our chief commander is a general who is equally distinguished in military and literary spheres,” it said. “He not only has a thorough knowledge of science technologies but also is a master of computer science.”

The manual ordered military leaders to emphasize frugality, saying, “Enemies’ bribes are either a poison or a dagger. Those receiving bribes from enemies always walk on the path of death.”