Kim assumes late father’s mantle
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has had his official party title changed, state media reported yesterday, assuming a position previously held by his late father in what analysts said was a move to bolster his authority.
The North Korean economy is struggling in the face of self-imposed coronavirus isolation, and is subject to multiple sanctions over its banned nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.
At the same time, nuclear talks with the United States have been deadlocked since the collapse of the Hanoi summit between Kim and President Donald Trump in February 2019.
The ruling Workers' Party of Korea "unanimously adopted" a decision to elect Kim as general secretary at its congress on Sunday, the official KCNA news agency reported.
"All the delegates expressed full support with stormy applause in great excitement," it said.
The South Korean military said it detected signs that a military parade may have been staged Sunday night for the congress.
The new title comes after Kim pledged at the meeting to strengthen his nuclear-armed nation's military capabilities, and called the US his country's "foremost principal enemy".
China President Xi Jinping has congratulated Kim Jong Un on being elected as general secretary of the ruling Workers' Party.
However, the name of Kim's sister was missing from the new list of the ruling politburo, according to state media yesterday, raising questions about her status after several years of increasing influence, reports Reuters.
Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister, remained a member of the Central Committee but was not included in its politburo, lists released by the North Korean state news agency, KCNA, showed.
In 2017, Kim became only the second woman in patriarchal North Korea to join the exclusive politburo after her aunt Kim Kyong Hui. South Korea's intelligence agency said in August she was her brother's "de facto second-in-command".
But the signals were mixed for observers of the reclusive regime. Her absence from the politburo list comes days after she took the leadership podium for the first time alongside 38 party executives as the congress began.
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