North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has removed Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho and sharply criticised party cadres over failures in economic guidance and project delays, in a rare public rebuke reported by state media, as Pyongyang prepares for a major political meeting.
“Owing to the irresponsible, rude and incompetent economic guidance officials, the first-stage modernisation project of the Ryongsong Machine Complex encountered difficulties,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying
Kim also criticised officials for “defeatism, irresponsibility and passiveness”, warning that current policymakers lacked the capacity to modernise the economy.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported last week that Pyongyang has replaced several senior military officials responsible for Kim’s personal security, citing alleged “assassination concerns”. The changes reportedly affected the heads of the Guard Office of the ruling party, the Guard Department of the State Affairs Commission, and the Bodyguard Command.
While uncommon, such moves echo past purges, including Jang Song Thaek, Kim’s uncle, who was executed in 2013 after being accused of plotting against the leadership. Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies said the leadership is “using public accountability as a shock tactic to warn party officials”, according to AFP.
ℹ️ Al Jazeera
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