@article{ART003286666},
author={Lee Junhee},
title={Political Purges and Power Realignment in 1960s North Korea},
journal={military history},
issn={1598-317X},
year={2025},
number={137},
pages={351-390}
TY - JOUR
AU - Lee Junhee
TI - Political Purges and Power Realignment in 1960s North Korea
JO - military history
PY - 2025
VL - null
IS - 137
PB - Military History Institute, MND
SP - 351
EP - 390
SN - 1598-317X
AB - This study aims to reexamine leadership reshuffling in North Korea during the 1960s. Previous scholarship has focused almost exclusively on two incidents—the 1967 Kapsan Faction Incident and the 1969 cases involving Kim Chang-bong and Heo Bong-hak—thus failing to capture the broader trajectory of elite politics throughout the decade. Moreover, earlier studies have offered little systematic explanation of the concrete strategies Kim Il Sung used to eliminate his political rivals.
This study reconstructs the political history of 1960s North Korea by focusing on leadership restructuring, using North Korean sources disclosed during the Kim Jong Un era and diplomatic documents from the Soviet Union and Hungary, thereby addressing the limitations of previous research. The main findings are as follows. First, Kim Il Sung’s purges were not limited to 1967 and 1969 but proceeded sequentially throughout the decade. Second, Kim employed diverse strategies—including personnel reshuffles and party organizational reforms—and consistently secured a broad coalition of allies. Third, second-generation partisans and members of Kim’s own family, as key beneficiaries of the consolidation of the monolithic leadership system, played a more active role than previously assumed.
Thus, North Korean politics in the 1960s should be understood not as a totalitarian system ruled by a single omnipotent leader but as a political arena in which subordinate actors with their own interests clashed beneath Kim. His ultimate victory in these struggles paved the way for North Korea’s transformation into a dynastic totalitarian state.
KW - Kim Il Sung;Kim Chang Man;Pak Gum Chol;Ri Hyo Sun;Kim;Gyang Hyop;Ho Bong Hak;Kim Chang Bong;2nd party;conference of the WPK;Kapsan faction incident;purge
DO -
UR -
ER -
Lee Junhee. (2025). Political Purges and Power Realignment in 1960s North Korea. military history, 137, 351-390.
Lee Junhee. 2025, "Political Purges and Power Realignment in 1960s North Korea", military history, no.137, pp.351-390.
Lee Junhee "Political Purges and Power Realignment in 1960s North Korea" military history 137 pp.351-390 (2025) : 351.
Lee Junhee. Political Purges and Power Realignment in 1960s North Korea. 2025; 137 : 351-390.
Lee Junhee. "Political Purges and Power Realignment in 1960s North Korea" military history no.137(2025) : 351-390.
Lee Junhee. Political Purges and Power Realignment in 1960s North Korea. military history, 137, 351-390.
Lee Junhee. Political Purges and Power Realignment in 1960s North Korea. military history. 2025; 137 351-390.
Lee Junhee. Political Purges and Power Realignment in 1960s North Korea. 2025; 137 : 351-390.
Lee Junhee. "Political Purges and Power Realignment in 1960s North Korea" military history no.137(2025) : 351-390.
