Yul Kwon:
How big decisions are made in North Korea, and who in the leadership actually makes them are top secret. And it's almost unheard of to get an explanation for these decisions. The dismissal earlier this week of Ri Yong-ho as army chief of staff was no exception.
Officially, the 69-year-old Ri was replaced because of ill health. But there's speculation that he was purged. To help us understand what this means, we're joined to day on Skype by Charles K. Armstrong, director of the Center for Korean Research at Columbia University. Thanks for joining us today.

Charles K. Armstrong:
Nice to be here.

Yul Kwon:
So, professor, what do you believe actually happened to Ri Yong-ho?

Charles K. Armstrong:
Well, he may have resigned because of ill health. That is the official news. But the timing is a little peculiar for that. It seems to me that Kim Jong-un is asserting his own power over the military and distancing himself from the old guard who were appointed by his father -- people like Ri Yong-ho. That seems to be really the story that's going on behind the scenes right now.

Yul Kwon:
Now, if Kim Jong-un is declaring his independence from his father's advisors, do you see him trying to do things differently? I mean, do you see any kind of new economic reform efforts in the cards?

Charles K. Armstrong:
We don't really see any reform, as such. But there are some indications that Kim Jong-un wants to take the country in a bit more reformist direction, sort of wants to improve and modernize the economy. He's said that many times. One of the things that's striking, however, is there's a big construction boom that's just finished in Pyongyang: 45-story, brand new apartments that have been set up in the last year. So there's money in North Korea, at least in Pyongyang, coming from somewhere, probably from the Chinese. And Kim Jong-un is sort of using that to gain loyalty and to win the support of the elite and capital from elsewhere.

Yul Kwon:
From what you've seen on the ground, and in light of the latest news about the changes in the military, how would you advise the US, South Korea and other interested parties in terms of dealing with North Korea going forward?

Charles K. Armstrong:
I think the first thing we have to keep in mind is that the Kim Jong-un regime is here to stay. The best way to deal with North Korea is to gradually try to bring them out of their isolation through cultural context, economic context, and so on, and sort of put the nuclear issue on the side for now, because it's something that's very central to their idea of self-defense at the moment.

Yul Kwon:
Great. Thank you so much for your insights, we really appreciate it.

Charles K. Armstrong:
Thank you very much.

Yul Kwon:
Charles K. Armstrong is a professor of Korean history at Columbia University in New York City. He has a book coming out soon, called Tyranny of the Weak: North Korea and the World.