North Korea replaces economy

President of the Supreme People's Assembly Presidium Choe Ryong-hae, front row third from left, speaks during the fourth session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly, North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, Sunday, the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Monday. Yonhap

By Jung Da-min

North Korea carried out a massive cabinet reshuffle in posts related to economic affairs during a meeting of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), the North's rubber-stamp legislature, Sunday, showing its commitment to, and the urgency for, quick economic recovery, experts said.

The SPA gathered to discuss and announce follow-up measures on the country's new five-year economic plan announced during the Eighth Congress of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) the previous week, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Monday.

The fourth session of the 14th SPA took place at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, five days after the eight-day congress ended. President of the SPA Presidium Choe Ryong-hae delivered opening and closing addresses.

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North Korea watchers noted a massive Cabinet reshuffle in economy-related posts, and six out of the total eight vice premiers have been replaced. Newly appointed vice premiers included Park Jong-gun, Jon Hyon-chol, Kim Song-ryong, Ri Song-hak, Pak Hun and Ju Chol-gyu.

Newly appointed vice premiers of North Korea's Cabinet are seen in this photo released by the Rodong Sinmun, Monday. Yonhap

"The fact that the SPA meeting was held in January this year, when it used to be held in March or April in the past, and the major personnel reshuffle in the Cabinet showed that North Korean leadership is focused on quickly reflecting the country's new five-year economic plan adopted at the eighth WPK congress in the country's new year budget and carrying out the personnel reshuffle to censure officials in charge of economic affairs," said Cheong Seong-chang, a fellow with the Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Wilson Center and a senior research fellow with the Seoul-based Sejong Institute. "A large number of ministers with the Cabinet have also been replaced in the same context."

Replaced ministers included Minister of Electric Power Industry Kim Yu-il, Minister of Chemical Industry Ma Jong-son, Minister of Railways Jang Chun-song and Minister of Mining Industry Kim Chol-su.

Fyodor Tertitskiy, a leading researcher at Kookmin University, said North Korea's economic situation is grim and seemingly worsening considering recent reports.

"There seem to be no end to sanctions and the country has gone into nearly complete self-isolation due to the ongoing pandemic. More importantly it seems that the reformist team responsible for the positive changes of the early 2010s has been completely sidelined, with the Supreme Leader openly pushing for the primacy of the military industrial complex over everything else and for making the economy even more planned and centralized," Tertitskiy said. "The recent developments leave no reasons for optimism."

Attendees at the SPA meeting included officials of the Central Committee of the WPK, the SPA Presidium, the Cabinet, the armed forces organs, ministries and national institutions. The country's leader Kim Jong-un, who was endorsed as the general secretary of the WPK during the party's latest congress, did not attend the meeting, according to the KCNA.

"They seriously analyzed and reviewed shortcomings, causes and experience in the efforts for making remarkable progress in the development of the country's economy and improvement of the people's standard of living in the past. They also suggested realistic and dynamic measures for implementing the new five-year plan," the KCNA said.