NIS: "North Korea Delegates Governance to Kim Yo-jong, Meaning Decentralization of Power" (Comprehensive)

"What's Important Is What Kim Jong-un Does... Not Succession Rule"
"Severe Damage in North Korea's Kangwon and Hwanghae Provinces Due to Heavy Rain"
"Yongbyon 5MW Reactor Currently Shut Down"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Lim Chun-han and Jeon Jin-young] The National Intelligence Service (NIS) announced on the 20th that Kim Yo-jong, First Deputy Director of the Workers' Party of Korea, and others are exercising delegated governance.

Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the opposition and ranking member of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee from the United Future Party, stated at a briefing after the full committee meeting held at the National Assembly that day, "The term 'delegated governance' was mentioned (by the NIS)," adding, "First Deputy Director Kim is exercising delegated governance over the overall state affairs." He also said, "This is not a succession governance," and "No successor has been decided."

Ha explained, "Chairman Kim Jong-un still exercises absolute power, but has gradually delegated some authority compared to the past," giving an example, "First Deputy Director Kim receives reports on South Korea and U.S. strategies and then passes them on to Chairman Kim."

Ha further stated, "Delegated governance is not performed solely by First Deputy Director Kim. Party Vice Chairman Pak Pong-ju and Premier Kim Tok-hun have been delegated authority over economic affairs, military affairs are delegated to Director Choe Pu-il, and strategic weapons development is overseen by Lee Byung-chul, Vice Chairman of the Party Central Military Commission," he said.

Regarding the reasons for delegated governance, Ha said, "First, it is to reduce the stress of governance for Chairman Kim. It seems that the stress has increased significantly over his nine years of rule," and "Second, it is to avoid responsibility in case of policy failures, as the risk to Chairman Kim would be too great."

Kim Byung-gi, the ruling party's ranking member of the Intelligence Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "It means that authority has been delegated, not that governance is divided due to problems. The important thing is that Chairman Kim himself ultimately governs," adding, "The term 'delegated governance' is problematic; it is not a term used in North Korea but was created by the NIS." The NIS also clarified that it means "authority has been dispersed."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim said, "The NIS reported that Gangwon Province and North and South Hwanghae Provinces suffered the most severe damage due to recent heavy rains, and that flooding damage to farmland has increased compared to 2016, which recorded the greatest damage since Chairman Kim took power," adding, "On August 10, there was a tense situation where the auxiliary dam of Hwanggang Dam was considered for demolition."

Ha reported on North Korea's COVID-19 situation, saying, "The NIS reported that from March to June, the situation slightly eased, moving into a mode of simultaneous quarantine and economic activity, but from July, the risk of resurgence increased sharply, leading to the implementation of the highest emergency quarantine system, controlling access to Pyongyang, Hwanghae, and Gangwon provinces." Kim also said, "Official COVID-19 deaths are zero, but quarantine measures appear to be very strict."

The NIS reported, "The Yongbyon 5 MW reactor remains shut down, and no signs of reprocessing facility operation have been identified," adding, "The scale of North Korean military summer training has also decreased by 25 to 65%."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.