Kim, In-soo, and Min-Yong Lee

Abstract
This study aims at explicating the nature of North Korea’s party—military relations by investigating high—level officials who are involved in Kim Jong—Il’s field inspection visit to the military. Apart from previous studies, we have distinguished Kim Jong—Il’s field inspection into two different types comprising of both inspections of combat unit and art performance. We have built a hypothesis that Kim Jong—Il is more likely to employ party cadre to seize control over the military, based upon his grown—up and early career backgrounds tied with party cadres. A survival analysis model is adapted to test the hypothesis. The results of the test prove that party cadres are more likely to accompany Kim Jong—Il’s field inspection to combat units while top military leaders are more visible in his inspection to military art performance. This finding brings a suggestion for other research attempts to reevaluate the party—military relations in North Korea, the nature of “military—first politics” and the purpose of Kim Jong—Il’s public appearances in the military.
PDF