North Korea carried out a government reshuffling June 7 during a session of the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), promoting Kim Jong Il’s brother-in-law, Jang Song Thaek, to vice chairman of the National Defense Commission (NDC), the most powerful state committee in North Korea. On June 4, South Korea also formally submitted its grievance with North Korea over the March 26 sinking of the ChonAn navy corvette (which Seoul has pinned on its rival to the north) to the United Nations Security Council. As tension continues and questions persist over the succession issue in the North, STRATFOR provides a snapshot of the disposition of the 25,000-strong U.S. Forces-Korea, a reminder of the American commitment to — and the geopolitical importance of — the Korean Peninsula.
