North Korea: Kim Jong Un names new politburo members, reviews 'party discipline'

As the head of North Korea's central leadership organ, Kim Jong Un pointed out "serious problems" with the lifestyles of some of the members of the party leadership, KCNA reported. To this, the party members expressed "remorse for failing to live up to the expectations."

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has appointed new members of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK)'s powerful politburo and "reinforced the discipline" within party ranks, news agency Reuters reported on Saturday, citing a communiqué by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the state media of North Korea. The decisions were made at the fourth and final day of the WPK's plenary meeting, where Kim Jong Un, heading the party's central committee, reviewed organisational and ideological issues.

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a Workers' Party meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, June 18, 2021. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korea's ruling party, the WPK, elected two new members to the central committee's powerful politburo, according to the KCNA report. The new members are -- Thae Hyong Chol, vice president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, and U Sang Chol, an official at the party's Central Auditing Commission, appointed as an alternate member.

As the head of North Korea's central leadership organ, Kim Jong Un pointed out "serious problems" with the lifestyles of some of the members of the party leadership, KCNA reported. To this, the party members expressed "remorse for failing to live up to the expectations," the news agency added, without elaborating further on the matter.

Notably, Kim had recently sparked controversies after called K-pop, a music genre originating in South Korea, a “vicious cancer” corrupting the country’s youth. Not just K-pop, Kim, and the North Korean party leadership have been rallying in recent months against South Korean pop culture, including movies, K-dramas, and K-pop videos. The North’s state media has warned that K-pop’s growing influence, which it calls “anti-socialist and nonsocialist”, on youth would make North Korea “crumble like a damp wall.”

Kim Jong Un, during earlier sessions of North Korea's plenary meetings, had warned about possible food shortages and urged the country to brace for extended Covid-19 restrictions. The meetings were conducted as part of a political conference to discuss national efforts to salvage a broken economy.

(With inputs from Reuters)