Controversy Over 'North Korea Delegated Governance' from NIS: "Should Be Seen as Outsourcing, Not Power Decentralization"

Expert: "Kim Jong-un burdened with excessive work and responsibility"
"Unrelated to Kim Jong-un's power weakening... More powerful than ever"

On the 19th, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over the 6th plenary meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea held at the Central Committee headquarters in Pyongyang, North Korea, according to a report by the Korean Central News Agency on the 20th. At the plenary meeting, it was decided to hold the 8th Party Congress in January next year.

As the National Intelligence Service reported that North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un is delegating some of his power to close aides and practicing delegated governance, attention is focused on the meaning and background of this development. Experts point out that the term 'delegated governance' should be interpreted cautiously, especially since it can evoke concerns about instability within the North Korean regime.

On the 20th, during a closed briefing at the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee, the National Intelligence Service revealed that Chairman Kim is delegating authority to some close aides, including his younger sister Kim Yo-jong, First Deputy Director of the Workers' Party of Korea, thereby practicing delegated governance. The known reason for this delegation is to 'alleviate Kim's governance stress.' The NIS reported that it is "to reduce governance stress and to avoid responsibility in case of policy failures." This style of governance by Kim is assessed to be closer to the concept of 'outsourcing tasks' rather than 'power decentralization.'

Choi Yong-hwan, Director of the Security Strategy Research Office at the Korea Institute for National Unification, explained, "Even during Kim Jong-il's era, there were cases where authority was divided with the Cabinet in economic sectors, making them responsible." He added, "By sharing both authority and responsibility, the ruler gains some freedom." Jo Han-beom, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said, "From Kim Jong-un's perspective, he is distributing excessively concentrated functions while simultaneously assigning responsibility," and "He is pursuing governance efficiency through functional segmentation."

It is also pointed out that 'delegated governance' should not be seen as a weakening of Kim's power. Researcher Jo emphasized, "Kim Jong-un is passing on problems that are difficult to handle directly and holding others accountable in a way, and the recent dismissal of Premier Kim Jae-ryong is in that context." Director Choi said, "By dividing authority in areas such as diplomacy and economy and delegating power, the roles and authority of lower units have increased," adding, "The term 'delegated governance' is somewhat exaggerated."

The 6th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea was held on the 19th at the headquarters building of the Workers' Party Central Committee in Pyongyang, North Korea, with Chairman Kim Jong-un in attendance, according to a report by the Korean Central News Agency on the 20th. At this plenary meeting, the holding of the 8th Party Congress in January next year was decided.

Furthermore, Kim Yo-jong's role as the 'second-in-command' should be viewed in the context of North Korea's unique 'family politics.' Researcher Jo stated, "A characteristic of dictatorial regimes is family politics, which involves entrusting trusted individuals to reduce the supreme leader's workload." He emphasized, "Although the term 'delegated governance' may imply a transfer of ruling power or a decrease in authority, in reality, Kim Jong-un's power is stronger than ever."

In fact, this is not the first time Chairman Kim has shown governance behavior that appears to disperse power. 'On-site guidance' is a representative example. Kim Jong-un's father, Kim Jong-il, continued to personally conduct nearly 100 on-site guidance visits annually even after suffering a cerebrovascular disease in 2008. Individual on-site guidance by ministers was virtually not permitted.

Meanwhile, according to Kim Byung-ki of the Democratic Party and Ha Tae-kyung of the United Future Party, the floor leaders of the Intelligence Committee, the NIS stated the day before that "Chairman Kim still exercises absolute power but has gradually delegated some authority compared to the past," and that this is "not about deciding a successor or the successor's governance."

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