While rather secretive about discussions during December’s party meeting, North Korean state media was surprisingly transparent about the promotions handed out. These were large in number compared to other meetings, with 45 promotions in total, most to the Central Committee and only two for the Politburo.

The leadership changes broadly aligned with policy directions that came out of the plenum and with developments from the past year, though there were some surprises.

For instance, the promotion of an important economic planning official to full Politburo member, and of the heads of the central bank and