Under Kim Jong-un's Leadership, North Korea Holds Plenary Meeting... Attention on Kim Yo-jong's Rising Rank

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] As North Korea convened the 4th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party on the 27th, presided over by General Secretary Kim Jong-un, attention is focused on whether General Secretary Kim will use this occasion to deliver messages regarding the United States and South Korea. There is also interest in whether the status of Kim Yo-jong, the Vice Department Director of the Workers' Party who attended the meeting, will be elevated.

The Rodong Sinmun reported on the 28th that "the 4th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea was convened on the 27th."

General Secretary Kim presided over the plenary meeting under the authorization of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee, and Central Committee members and candidate members attended. The newspaper also reported that officials from the Central Committee departments, leading institutions at the provincial and central levels, city and county leadership, heads of important factories and enterprises, and officials from relevant key sectors were present as observers.

The newspaper stated, "At the plenary meeting, the main party and state policy implementation status for 2021 was summarized (settled), and strategic and tactical guidelines and practical tasks to strongly lead the struggle of our Party and people to open a new phase of socialist construction to the next victorious stage were discussed and decided."

Rodong Sinmun only reported that "the plenary meeting approved the agenda items and entered into discussions," but did not specifically mention what was discussed at the meeting. However, it is highly likely that the first day of the meeting focused on reviewing the achievements of this year, the first year of the five-year economic development plan, and the goals for the next year.

Accordingly, General Secretary Kim's messages to domestic and foreign audiences are expected to be announced in the latter part of the meeting. Previously, North Korea held a year-end plenary meeting for four days from December 28 to 31 in 2019 and announced a decision document outlining the new national policy direction for January of the following year. If this plenary meeting continues until the 31st, discussions will span a total of five days.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

There is also interest in whether the elevation of the status of Vice Department Director Kim, General Secretary Kim's younger sister, will be formalized. In the publicly released scenes of the meeting, both Vice Department Director Kim and Party Vice Department Director Hyon Song-wol were seen sitting in the front row of the meeting hall. At the Central Memorial Meeting for the 10th anniversary of Kim Jong-il's death held on the 17th, Vice Department Director Kim's name was called 14th among Political Bureau members and candidate members, raising the possibility of a rise in rank. The Ministry of Unification stated that "it is difficult to make a definitive judgment" and that related trends should be further observed at plenary meetings and other events.

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