Former Minister Lee Jong-seok: "Kim Yo-jong May Be Appointed as 'First Secretary' in Case of Kim Jong-un's Emergency"

Lee Jong-seok, Senior Research Fellow at the Sejong Institute, is being interviewed on the 6th at the Sejong Institute in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. / Seongnam - Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Former Minister of Unification Lee Jong-seok recently analyzed that North Korea's establishment of the First Secretary through amendments to the party charter, defining this position as the deputy to the General Secretary, is a measure prepared for emergencies. He also added that Kim Yo-jong, the Vice Director, is more likely to be appointed as the First Secretary than Jo Yong-won, the Party Organization Secretary and alternate member of the Political Bureau Standing Committee.

On the 2nd, former Minister Lee held an online briefing on the amendment of the Workers' Party of Korea charter and stated, "(Secretary Jo) is not entirely impossible, but I think the deputy position is intended to secure the stability of the leadership system related to the successor or succession," explaining this view.

Previously, the North Korean Workers' Party created the position of First Secretary, effectively the 'number two,' through changes to the party charter, defining the First Secretary as the deputy to the General Secretary. This led some to analyze that Secretary Jo, known as the second in the power hierarchy, was likely appointed as the First Secretary.

However, former Minister Lee said, "Although Secretary Jo is second in the power hierarchy, there is already a provision allowing the Standing Committee member to preside over Political Bureau meetings delegated by the General Secretary, so there is no need to grant a deputy status," and analyzed, "The deputy is likely to be the successor or someone equivalent to the successor."

Since the position is intended with the successor in mind, it is highly likely that Kim Yo-jong, who is of the Paektu bloodline, will be appointed. He said, "The deputy seems to include the successor or the person who will carry on the succession," and added, "Kim Yo-jong may be appointed as the First Secretary in an emergency."

However, he believes that the First Secretary has not yet been appointed in North Korea. Former Minister Lee said, "North Korea has recently disclosed most personnel matters, and if an appointment was made but not disclosed, it would not fit their usual governing style," adding, "If someone was appointed as the First Secretary but kept secret, it would be hard to see it as anything other than appointing General Secretary Kim's child."

Regarding North Korea's abandonment of the South Korean revolution theory in this party charter amendment, he interpreted it as effectively giving up on unification. Former Minister Lee said, "It means separate prosperity for you and me, not the joint prosperity of the nation," and added, "Since the Kim Jong-un era, North Korea has not been producing discourse on unification, and the discourse on unification has effectively disappeared."