Choe Ryong-hae, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and considered a top aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has returned to the influential position of Party Organization Secretary after just three months.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that during the enlarged plenary meeting of the 9th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, held from June 20 to 22, General Secretary Kim proposed recalling Choe from his post as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and electing him as a secretary of the Party Central Committee.
Kim Jae-ryong, the former director of the Organization and Guidance Department, has been dismissed.
The KCNA stated that the now-vacant position of Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly will be filled at a future session of the Supreme People's Assembly.
Choe, who has served as one of Kim Jong-un's closest confidants, was elected Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly at a session held in March, but has now returned to his role as Party Organization Secretary.
The sudden appointment is being viewed as potentially linked to recent corruption issues within the military.
The KCNA reported that "the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea decided to refer Park Hui-chol, deputy director of the Organization Department of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, to legal authorities for investigation into corruption charges, and decided to appoint Major General Kim Yong as the new deputy director of the Organization Department of the General Political Bureau."
This suggests that Choe may have been brought back to tighten organizational discipline in response to the recent incidents and signs of laxity.
During this plenary meeting, Han Kwang-sang, who served as the director of the Light Industry Department, was also dismissed from his post as a director of the Party Central Committee.
Ri Ho-rim has been appointed as the new director of the Light Industry Department.
(Photo: KCNA, Yonhap News)