North Korea's deputy prime minister, dismissed on the spot by Kim Jong Un during an inspection
Photo provided by state media of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the Ryongsong Industrial Complex which has completed the first phase of the renovation and modernization project. Photo source: STR / AFP / Profimedia
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un fired his deputy prime minister while inspecting an industrial complex, state media reported on Tuesday, according to AFP and Reuters.
“Kim Jong Un dismissed Yang Sung Ho, deputy prime minister, with immediate effect,” the state news agency KCNA announced in the press release about the visit to the factory, without specifying the reasons for this dismissal, which took place on Monday, writes News.ro.
Kim Jong Un inspected the Ryongsong industrial complex, located on the outskirts of the capital Pyongyang, after the completion of modernization works.
In a speech, he criticized the “irresponsible, passive and incompetent economic officials”, whom he considers responsible for the project's delays, according to KCNA. The dismissed deputy prime minister was in charge of the car industry.
Kim Jong Un stated that the party clearly found that “the current economic leadership forces are hardly capable of leading the work of readjusting the country's industry as a whole and technologically upgrading it.”
The inspection of the industrial machinery factory and the dismissal of the high-ranking official take place before an important single party congress.
In recent weeks, Kim has made a series of factory visits and participated in weapons tests ahead of the Workers' Party's 9th Congress, which will convene soon to set major policy goals.
