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N. Korea appoints new members of ruling party’s politburo

N. Korea appoints new members of ruling party’s politburo

Posted October. 10, 2017 08:10,   

Updated October. 10, 2017 09:27

한국어

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appointed new “nine members” as the Politburo members of the Workers’ Party of Korea on the second meeting with full attendance of North Korean ruling Workers’ Party of Korea held on Saturday. It can be predicted that the relatively younger entourages in their 50s and early 60s will prevail, making changes in domestic and foreign policies of North Korea.

On Sunday, North Korea's state newspaper Rodong Sinmun put the photography of five committee members of the Politburo of the Workers’ Party of Korea—Pak Gwang Ho, Pak Tae Sung, Tae Jong Soo, An Jung Soo and Ri Yong Ho, and four candidates of the Politburo of the Workers’ Party of Korea—Choe Hwi, Pak Tae Duk, Kim Yo Jong and Jong Gyong Taek. It also mentioned on Monday the 25 executives who were sitting in the “board of premier” at the central celebration of the 20th anniversary of the reign of Kim Jong Il, which took place on the previous day, and disclosed new committee members of the Politburo of the Workers’ Party of Korea, such as Pak Gwang Ho, and six candidates.

“The nine people who have been appointed as the committee members and candidates for the Politburo of the Workers’ Party of Korea are seemingly the new rising people in power of North Korea, and they also seem young as well,” a South Korean government official said. “The overall outline for this personnel appointment is not being confirmed, but it seems that they are emphasizing the entourages of Kim Jong Un, while removing the entourages of Kim Jong Il, as they have aged.”

The former positions of Pak Gwang Ho, committee member of the Politburo of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Jong Gyong Taek, candidate for the Politburo of the Workers’ Party and Ryang Won Ho, the head of the specialist team of Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, have not yet been confirmed. The media of North Korea hardly ever mentioned their names, and they were never detected by South Korea’s surveillance system on North Korea. “It seems that these people worked at the ruling party’s Guidance Department or Kim Jong Un’s secretariat,” a government source said. “The identities of those who work in these departments are confidential and they are never revealed to the public.”

North Korea revealed every detail about the personnel appointment on the first meeting with full attendance in May 2016. But in the recent meeting, the reclusive regime revealed only newly appointed personnel, and they did not disclose the whereabouts of the previous personnel. In addition, the North’s Saturday meeting broke the tradition of holding the meeting with full attendance in the agricultural off-season, from November to March of the following year.



In-Chan Hwang hic@donga.com