North Korea leader delegates power to his younger sister
NEW YORK: Kim Jong Un issued a dire warning for North Korea’s economy amid reports that the country’s leader has delegated some of his powers to his sister, including responsibility for relations with the US.
Kim told a gathering of ruling party leaders that the country “faced unexpected and inevitable challenges in various aspects” and that his development goals had been “seriously delayed”, state media said on Thursday.
The assessment came as sanctions, flooding and the pandemic pushed the North Korean economy towards what was expected to be its worst contraction in more than two decades.
South Korean lawmakers said the country’s spy agency determined that Kim had delegated responsibility for relations with Seoul and Washington to his younger sister, Kim Yo Jong.
While she has taken an increasingly public role in diplomatic matters, such as responding to a letter from US President Donald Trump earlier this year, a lawmaker described a more formal power-sharing arrangement.
Intelligence committee member Ha Tae Keung, who was among National Assembly lawmakers briefed by the spy agency on Thursday, said the move didn’t indicate that Kim was adopting a “collective leadership” system similar to China’s Communist Party. “The absolute power of Kim Jong Un is being shared under the current leadership style of North Korea,” Ha said, adding that Kim still retained ultimate control.
North Korea also announced plans for the first national congress of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea since 2016 , in January. It would provide another platform to promote prominent officials such as his sister.
The North Korean leader also pledged to unveil a new five-year economic development plan at the upcoming party congress.
At a campaign stop in Pennsylvania, US President Donald Trump claimed that the US would have been at war with North Korea if not for Kim.