[News analysis] Dissecting North Korea’s political restructuring

A commemorative photo of the seventh Workers’ Party of Korea’s fifth plenary session published by the state-run Rodong Sinmun on Jan. 1. Taken on Dec. 31, 2019, the photo offers a look into North Korea’s recent political reshuffling. (Rodong Sinmun)

A photo to commemorate the 7th WPK’s 5th plenary session offers a look into Pyongyang’s new power structure

A commemorative photo of the seventh Workers’ Party of Korea’s fifth plenary session published by the state-run Rodong Sinmun on Jan. 1. Taken on Dec. 31, 2019, the photo offers a look into North Korea’s recent political reshuffling. (Rodong Sinmun)

A closer look at a commemorative photograph taken at the fifth plenary session of the seventh Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee, which was published in the Jan. 1 edition of North Korea’s state-run Rodong Sinmun, shows a number of illuminating aspects. The saying holds that “appointments are everything” -- and a look at who is and is not included in the image provides a glimpse into North Korea’s current situation.

Absence of top two US affairs officials Ri Su-yong and Ri Yong-ho

Not visible in the group photograph are either WPK International Affairs Department Director Ri Su-yong or Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, who accompanied leader Kim Jong-un at two North Korea-US summits in 2018 and 2019 as leading members of Pyongyang’s “US affairs lineup.” While both Ris were seated with Kim in the second row of the leaders’ section at the four-day plenary session event, neither was included when the new leadership was assembled for a group photo.

While it is still too early to reach any conclusions, the possibility of two top US affairs officials having been switched out amid the ongoing impasse in North Korea-US relations cannot be ruled out. If Ri Yong-ho had stepped down as the foreign minister, a new one should have been announced that day; the absence of any reference to the North Korean Foreign Ministry in the list of official appointments suggests a need to watch for further developments.

A South Korean government source said, “While we can’t say anything definite yet, we’re watching this closely, while focusing the possibility that he may have been recalled.” In the case of Ri Su-yong, who turns 80 years old this year, the prevailing view among observers was that he may have given up his position to former North Korean Ambassador to Russia Kim Hyung-jun -- who was newly elected at the latest meeting -- rather than having been replaced on disciplinary grounds.

Other striking omissions from the group photograph include Propaganda and Agitation Department Director Park Kwang-ho, who was seated in the first row of the leaders’ section; KWP Secretary Kim Pyong-hae, 79. and Light Industry Department Director An Jong-su, 72, both of whom were seated in the second row; and Munitions Industry Department Director Thae Jong-su, 84, and Cabinet Vice Premier Ro Tu-chol, 84. In light of their advanced ages, South Korean authorities and experts are focusing on the possibility that they may have been recalled or dismissed from their respective roles as Politburo members, Executive Policy Bureau vice chairman, and specialized department directors in a kind of “changing of the generational guard.”

Women representing nine out of 256

Women represented just nine out of the 256 people shown in the plenary session group photo. Names and positions could be confirmed for seven of them, with attention focusing in particular on the four women standing side-by-side in the fourth row just behind Kim Jong-un. Examination of a North Korean information portal and a review by experts indicated that the four are Minister of Consumer Goods Industry Ri Kang-son, Socialist Women’s Union Central Committee Chairperson Chang Chun-sil, State Academy of Sciences President Ri Hye-jong, and Minister of Public Health O Chun-bok.

While North Korea remains far from achieving gender equality in politics, the four are responsible for relatively important areas. The Minister of Consumer Goods Industry is responsible for production of various living essentials, with the ministry receiving particular attention during the Kim Jong-un era amid North Korea’s push for domestic production of living essentials. The Socialist Women’s Union is a peripheral social group within the party, which was chaired in the past by Kim Il-sung’s wife Kim Song-ae. The State Academy of Sciences is a key research institution providing political and ideological support for North Korea as a socialist state. The Ministry of Public Health is equivalent to the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, with public health being one of the areas directly emphasized by Kim Jong-un during the latest plenary session.

Also visible in the group photograph is Kim Jong-un’s younger sister, Propaganda and Agitation Department First Vice Director Kim Yo-jong. Some are speculating that Kim Yo-jong may have been moved during the session to the position of first vice director of the Organization and Guidance Department, which effectively ranks first in the WPK hierarchy. With the Organization and Guidance Department wielding greater authority than the Propaganda and Agitation Department due to its party leadership and personnel appointment powers, her transfer could be viewed as a promotion if it did indeed take place. Also featured prominently in the group photograph are First Vice Minister Choe Son-hui and Hyon Song-wol, a WPK Central Committee member and director of the Samjiyon Band (and also believed to be a deputy director in the Propaganda and Agitation Department).

Experts attributed particular significance to the appearance of WPK Vice Chairman Pak Pong-ju, who arrived in a wheelchair for the commemorative photograph on the last day after not being seen during the first three days of the plenary session. In an analysis published on Jan. 2, the North Korea research office of the Korea Institute for National Unification said, “The appearance of WPK Vice Chairman Pak Pong-ju joining the other in a wheelchair for the final commemorative photograph could be seen an attempt to present the appearance of joint decision-making by the supreme elite responsible for the ‘party-state’ and unity without dissent.”

By Noh Ji-won, staff reporter

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