1992 North Korean coup attempt

none 1992 North Korean coup attempt North Korea (orthographic projection).svg ar 25 April 1992 Pyongyang (North Korea) Military coup Killing Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il Coup fail Executions of coup affiliates A group of North Korean students planned to use a tank loaded with a live shell during a military parade officially commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korean People's Army on 25 April 1992, with the intention to fire it on the tribune as the vehicle passed the reviewing stand to kill North Korean leader Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il, as well as members of the country's top leadership. The plan failed after one of the department chiefs in the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces switched the tanks used in the parade to be from the Ministry instead of the capital defense division. History In the 1980s, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev launched the perestroika policy, introducing political reforms to the Soviet Union. A group of North Korean students studying at the Frunze Military Academy were influenced by the reforms, and wanted a similar change in North Korea.Kim Joo-won 2015-11-24 군사 정변 모의한 유학생들 대량처형 Mass execution of students who plotted a military coup https://www.rfa.org/korean/weekly_program/ae40c528c77cac00c758-c228aca8c9c4-c9c4c2e4/co-su-11242015091343.html 2026-03-11 Radio Free Asia ko However, they thought that such reforms were unlikely to take place as long as the Kim family maintained power.Tertitskiy Fyodor 13 March 2015 Bold acts of resistance in North Korea https://www.nknews.org/2015/03/bold-acts-of-resistance-in-north-korea/ 11 March 2026 NK News In 1992, preparations were made for a military parade to be held on 25 April, officially commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korean People's Army. One of the students in the group suggested the parade as the venue where the Kim family would be most vulnerable. They planned loading one of the tanks in the parade with a real shell, and firing when a group of tanks would be passing next to the tribune containing North Korea's leadership, killing North Korean leader Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il, as well as members of the country's top leadership. However, one of the department chiefs in the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces switched the tanks used in the parade to be from the Ministry instead of the capital defense division; the official made the change despite being unaware of the coup plans.McCoy Robert 2018-06-03 North Korea’s history of regime resilience and coup resistance https://asiatimes.com/2018/06/north-koreas-history-of-regime-resilience-and-coup-resistance/ 2026-03-11 Asia Times en-US As the students were planning to use one of the tanks of the capital defense division, this led the plan to unravel, and the parade went as scheduled. Aftermath It took time for the North Korean officials to learn about the plot. Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il were shocked to learn about it, and ordered an investigation and purges. The conspirators were arrested, tortured and executed. Since the plotters were trained officials, this led the North Korean military to severely lack trained pilots for a few years. References Category:1992 in North Korea Category:1990s coups d'état Category:Attempted coups d'état in Asia