North Korean state media was unusually quiet about last week’s party meeting while it was in session, but once it ended, the news of new appointments came in droves.

The main report on the plenum stated that 30 officials received new posts, covering all major policy areas. These included the replacement of top security officials, officials overseeing foreign policy and inter-Korean relations and major economic officials.

It’s unclear why the regime undertook such a large reshuffle all at once, but it may be connected to larger policy changes on the horizon. The replacement of