North Korea Establishes First Secretary as 'Second-in-Command' Under General Secretary Kim Jong-un

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] It has been reported that North Korea recently established the position of ‘First Secretary’ directly under General Secretary Kim Jong-un in the Workers' Party.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to sources on North Korea on the 1st, North Korea amended the ‘Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea’ at the 8th Party Congress held in January, adding the phrase "The plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee shall elect the First Secretary and Secretaries" in Article 26 of Chapter 3, ‘Central Organizations of the Party.’

This means the creation of the title of First Secretary under the General Secretary, officially formalizing the position of second-in-command among the seven Party Secretaries. It is reported that the Party rules stipulate that the First Secretary can preside over meetings by delegation from General Secretary Kim.

In North Korea, the only positions authorized to preside over meetings on behalf of General Secretary Kim are the Standing Members of the Party Political Bureau. Currently, there are five Standing Members of the Political Bureau, including General Secretary Kim Jong-un, Choe Ryong-hae, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, Jo Yong-won, Party Organization Secretary, Ri Pyong-chol, Vice Chairman of the Party Central Military Commission, and Kim Tok-hun, Premier of the Cabinet.

Considering the title of First Secretary, it is widely believed that Jo Yong-won, a close aide of General Secretary Kim among the Standing Members of the Political Bureau, has likely assumed this role.

Secretary Jo also led the second day of the Cell Secretaries' Conference on the 7th of last month together with other secretaries.

General Secretary Kim held the title of First Secretary from 2012 to 2016. In 2012, Kim Jong-un appointed his father, Kim Jong-il, as the ‘Eternal General Secretary’ and newly established the position of First Secretary for himself within the Party.

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