SEOUL,
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has dismissed a vice premier during a public appearance, delivering an unusually blunt criticism of senior officials and accusing them of incompetence as the country struggles to revive its economy.
State media reported on Tuesday that Vice Premier Yang Sung Ho was removed from his post during Kim’s visit to the opening of a major industrial machinery complex. According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim ordered Yang’s dismissal “on the spot” after denouncing what he described as irresponsible and ineffective leadership among senior cadres.
In remarks carried by state media, Kim accused leading officials of being “rude and incompetent” and failing to meet the demands of their positions. He was quoted as urging the vice premier to step down before it was “too late”, a striking departure from the normally opaque and tightly managed personnel changes within the North Korean system.
Public criticism of senior officials by the leader is rare in the authoritarian state, where internal discipline is usually handled behind closed doors. Analysts say the move reflects Kim’s growing frustration with economic underperformance at a time when the country remains under heavy international sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes.
During the factory visit in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong, Kim criticised officials for what he called a culture of defeatism and passivity. Yang Sung Ho, he said, was unfit to shoulder major responsibilities, likening his appointment to “hitching a cart to a goat instead of an ox”, according to the KCNA report.
Kim called for urgent efforts to modernise the economy and overcome what he described as long-standing backwardness, urging officials to build an economic system capable of securing the country’s future. Images released by state media showed Kim addressing workers at the site, many dressed in matching uniforms, as he delivered the speech.
North Korea’s economy has long been constrained by state control, chronic mismanagement and repeated natural disasters, including floods and droughts. While the government has prioritised military and nuclear development, the country continues to face food insecurity and infrastructure shortages.
The newly opened machinery complex forms part of a broader industrial belt stretching across the northeast to the port city of Wonsan. According to Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, the region accounts for a significant share of the country’s machinery output.
Experts say Kim’s public dismissal of a senior official echoes earlier moments of high-profile accountability, though far less severe than past purges. Yang Moo-jin noted that Kim has previously used public criticism as a warning to party elites, citing the execution of Kim’s uncle Jang Song Thaek in 2013 as an extreme example of internal discipline.
The move comes as Pyongyang prepares for its first congress of the ruling Workers’ Party in five years, expected in the coming weeks. Economic reform, alongside defence and military planning, is widely expected to feature prominently on the agenda.
At a recent meeting of senior party and military officials, Kim pledged to root out what he described as “evil” practices within the system. While state media did not provide details, it referred to multiple recent “deviations” in discipline, language often used to signal corruption or abuse of authority.
