Mr. Masahiro Matsumura assumes that North Korea's preposterous young leader Kim Jong-un had his mentor and uncle-in-law, Chang Song-thaek executed last December at the behest of "China's resurgent warlords", at "the Shenyang Military District, which borders North Korea". He believes there's a power struggle going between the leadership in Beijing and the top brass in Shenyang, a former bastion of socialist industry.

Shenyang is absolutely no stranger to Japanese. Formerly known as Mukden, it was the site of the Battle of Mukden in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese war. In 1931 Japan invaded the city and occupied China's north-east. In recent years Russia and China are said to have established a communications channel between the commander of Russia's Far Eastern military district and China's northeastern military commander at Shenyang in Liaoning Province. The city has also a number of North Korean business people, who are there to enhance bilateral trade and investment.

Mr. Matsumura says "Chang’s execution was thus a straightforward challenge to Chinese President Xi Jinping". That Xi had not suspended China's aid to North Korea to show his displeasure, was an indication that he feared this military district would not take orders from Beijing, and "that Kim has somehow secured a lifeline directly from Shenyang". Matsumura also suggests that this defiance may have been in retaliation for the purge and conviction of Bo Xilai, who had been mayor of Dalian and governor of Lianoning Province.

If Mr. Matsumura insists, there were discontent in Shenyang, it could also have been triggered by President Xi's military priorities. He called for a stronger air force. China's defence budget is the second largest in the world and the Chinese People's Liberation Army is the world's largest, at three million strong. As PLA officers are also party members, they stay in line with party thinking. It's unlikely that a power struggle would topple the leadership. It's possible that the seven military districts are given different budgets and that some may get the short end of the stick. Reforms introduced since the 1980s have made the armed forces much more professional. They have shed one million men in a bid to concentrate on quality not quantity. Emphasis is being put on better training, better weapons and better pay. Shenyang may house "four of the PLA’s five mechanized army corps", but China is said to be investing heavily in stealth technology, space warfare and cyber security.



