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The Korean Workers’ Party held a central committee election on Sunday (January 10) to set the country’s foreign, military and economic policy goals for the next five years.
According to the list published by North Korean state media, the Korean Central News Agency, although Kim Yo-jung remains a member of the Central Committee, is not included in the Politburo.
Kim Yo-jung became the only second senior female official under the North Korean male system of government in 2017. After her aunt Kim Kyung-hee, she joined the Politburo. South Korean intelligence agencies declared in August 2020 that Kim Yoo is his brother’s “substantial second-in-command.”
But Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at Kyungnam University in Seoul, believes Kim Yoo’s absence from the Politburo list is a mixed blessing. It happened at the beginning of the VIII National Congress. He met 38 people for the first time. A few days later, the main figures of the party took to the main stage together. Lin Ouzhe told Reuters: “It is too early to draw conclusions about his (political) status, because he is still a member of the Central Committee and can hold other important positions.”
Michael Madden, an expert on North Korea at the Stimson Center in the United States, said that regardless of whether Kim Yo-jung is on the Politburo, he enjoys the highest degree of political influence. “We are used to seeing her play a more public role. But Kim Yo-jung’s political roots and professional background are behind the scenes, not sitting on stage and listening to speeches.”
The one-man government of North Korea
Leader Kim Jong-un consolidated his power at the meeting, was elected general secretary of the party, and took the title from his late father, Kim Jong-il. KCNA reported that the conference “fully approved” Kim Jong-un’s proposal for this post, calling him “the supreme leader of the revolution” and “the center of leadership and unity.”
Kim Jong Un declared that he would expand diplomacy, promising to develop weapons, including “multiple warhead” ICBMs, and called the United States “the greatest enemy.”
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korea in Seoul, said: “Kim Jong-un has shown his self-confidence. Now he has officially joined the ranks of his father and grandfather.” But “this also shows that its strategic intention is to put the The system is concentrated around it, strengthening its dictatorship.”
North Korea expert Madden believes that “North Korea is currently operating as a tribe, and Kim Jong-un wants it to function as a monarchy.”
Another character who rose quickly in this conference, Jo Yong-won (Jo Yong-won), is also a character worthy of attention.
Additionally, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, who played a major role in preparing for the 2019 summit with US President Trump (Trump), was demoted.
At the same time, as US President-elect Biden prepares to take office, South Korean President Moon Jae-in promised to help plan a breakthrough in the stalled denuclearization negotiations. Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat and now a South Korean congressman, said Kim Jong-un’s call for more advanced weapons shows that if it is open to trade, it is likely to be an arms control deal. Not completely denuclearized.
In an interview, Tae Young Ho said, “He (Kim Jong Un) hopes to send a very strong message to the incoming Biden administration.”
Editor in charge: Li Yuan #
