New powerful figure in North Korean government revealed
North Korea recently appointed Kim Jong-gak as head of the General Political Bureau of the army, becoming a new powerful figure in the North Korean government.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and officials. Photo: Yonhap
YonhapCiting a South Korean parliamentary source, the country's intelligence agency has obtained information about Kim Jong-gak's appointment as head of the North Korean army's General Political Bureau.
Mr. Kim Jong-gak, former vice minister of the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces of Korea, will replace Mr. Hwang Pyong-so, head of the Presidium of the Workers' Party of Korea and once considered the third most powerful figure in the North Korean government but now "dropped in rank" to fifth.
Hwang Pyong-so, once considered one of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's closest aides, is said to have been recently dismissed and is undergoing "ideological education" at a high-level school.
The Organization and Guidance Department of the Workers' Party of Korea conducted a three-month investigation into the agency starting in October 2017.