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Published On 20 Jan 2026<\/span>20 Jan 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has fired a senior official tasked with economic policy and condemned \u201cincompetent\u201d party members, according to state media, in a rare public rebuke of officials in the secretive state.<\/p>\n<p>The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Tuesday that Kim had dismissed Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho during the inauguration ceremony of the first stage of a modernisation project at the Ryongsong Machine Complex.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The North Korean leader fired Yang \u201con the spot\u201d, KCNA said, adding that Kim considered the vice premier as \u201cunfit to be entrusted with heavy duties\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPut simply, it was like hitching a cart to a goat \u2013 an accidental mistake in our cadre appointment process,\u201d Kim was quoted in the news report as saying. \u201cAfter all, it is an ox that pulls a cart, not a goat,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Yang, a former machinery industry minister promoted to vice premier in charge of the machinery sector, is also an alternate member of the party\u2019s leadership council, according to South Korea\u2019s state news agency Yonhap.<\/p>\n<p>Yang\u2019s replacement has not been announced.<\/p>\n<p>The removal comes as North Korea\u2019s ruling Workers\u2019 Party gears up for its Ninth Party Congress, which is expected to convene soon to set out major policy goals for the country.<\/p>\n<p>During the visit to the industrial machinery complex on Monday, Kim also blasted officials whom he blamed for delays in the modernisation project.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4252976\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4252976\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4252976\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AFP__20260120__93B26G4__v2__MidRes__NkoreaPolitics-1768875437.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C514&quality=80\" alt=\"This picture taken on January 19, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on January 20, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) attending the completion ceremony for the first phase of renovation and modernisation of the Ryongsong Machine Complex in South Hamgyong Province, North Korea. (Photo by KCNA VIA KNS \/ AFP) \/ SOUTH KOREA OUT \/ ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO\/KCNA VIA KNS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTSTHIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE.\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4252976\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the completion ceremony for the first phase of renovation and modernisation of the Ryongsong Machine Complex in South Hamgyong Province, North Korea, on Monday [KCNA via KNS\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cOwing to the irresponsible, rude and incompetent economic guidance officials, the first-stage modernisation project of the Ryongsong Machine Complex encountered difficulties,\u201d KCNA quoted Kim as saying.<\/p>\n<p>He also slammed party members who, for \u201ctoo long\u201d, had \u201cbeen accustomed to defeatism, irresponsibility and passiveness\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Kim warned that current economic policymakers could \u201chardly guide the work of readjusting the country\u2019s industry as a whole and upgrading it technologically\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The public admonition of officials, which Yonhap described as \u201crare\u201d, appeared aimed at tightening discipline among officials in advance of the Party Congress.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, Yonhap reported that North Korea had replaced its top military officials in charge of guarding Kim, amid what it called \u201cassassination concerns\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>According to the report, the chiefs of three major North Korean units, the Guard Office of the ruling party, the Guard Department of the State Affairs Commission and the Bodyguard Command, were all replaced.<\/p>\n<p>While rare, the public dismissals mirror past cases, such as Jang Song Thaek, Kim\u2019s uncle, who was executed in 2013 after being accused of plotting to overthrow his nephew, according to Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies.<\/p>\n<p>The North Korean leader is \u201cusing public accountability as a shock tactic to warn party officials\u201d, Yang told the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kim condemns \u2018incompetent\u2019 party members for delays in government projects in advance of key ruling party meeting. Published On 20 Jan 202620 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has fired a senior official tasked with economic policy and condemned \u201cincompetent\u201d party members, according to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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