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Kim Jong Un publicly dismisses vice-premier for factory failures
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has fired vice-premier Yang Sung-ho in a dramatic public rebuke during a ceremony at an industrial complex, highlighting what he called chronic incompetence and mismanagement in key economic projects. The dismissal occurred at the inauguration of the first phase of a modernization effort at the Ryongsong Machine Complex in Hamhung, in South Hamgyong Province, as reported by the Korean Central News Agency.
Kim declared Yang unfit for major responsibilities, likening his appointment to hitching a cart to a goat instead of an ox a mistake in cadre selection that wasted significant money and labor. Before the abrupt sacking, Kim urged Yang to resign voluntarily while he still could, criticizing irresponsible officials for human errors that inflicted substantial economic losses and burdened the armaments industry.
Yang, previously minister of machine industry and a deputy member of the Workers' Party of Korea's leadership, received no announced successor. This move aligns with Kim's pattern of public accountability, following earlier private criticisms during a December party plenum where he monitored Yang's performance closely.
Analysts view the episode as a shock tactic to enforce discipline ahead of the ninth Workers' Party Congress, expected late January or February, where economic policy, defense planning, and a new five-year strategy will feature prominently. The Ryongsong facility anchors a vital industrial corridor producing about 16 percent of North Korea's machinery output.
Such purges echo historical precedents under Kim, including the 2013 execution of his uncle Jang Song Thaek for alleged treason. North Korea's economy grapples with international sanctions over its nuclear and missile programs, compounded by centralized mismanagement and food shortages, though South Korea's central bank noted 3.7 percent growth in 2024 amid heavy defense spending.
