North Korea appoints Central Party Committee Secretary and Defense Minister

On January 1, the North Korean government elected Ri Yong Gil and Kang Sun-nam to the positions of Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Minister of Defense, respectively.

“The secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea Pak Jong Chon was dismissed and former Defense Minister Ri Yong Gil was elected to the post. Kang Sun Nam was appointed as the new defense minister. Minister of Social Security Pak Su Il will replace Ri Thae Sop as the chief of the general staff of the Korean People’s Army. Ri will take over as the minister of public security,” Yonhap news agency quoted a statement from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The plenary meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea on the morning of January 1. Photo: KCNA/ Yonhap

However, the above announcement did not state the reason why Mr. Pak was removed from the position of Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.

According to Yonhap, the decision to elect Ri Yong Gil and Kang Sun Nam to the positions of Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and Minister of National Defense of North Korea was made at the 6th plenary session of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea held on the morning of January 1, with the aim of establishing important policy directions for Pyongyang in 2023.

In another development, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in a meeting held on the morning of January 1, ordered the development of new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) "to counter potential threats."

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at a meeting on the morning of January 1. Photo: KCNA/ Yonhap

“We must strengthen the country’s nuclear arsenal and ensure overwhelming military power to defend our sovereignty and national security. It is our duty to develop another ICBM system capable of rapid nuclear counterattack,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.