Why North Korea’s politburo held a secret meeting in recent months



Analysis Why North Korea’s politburo held a secret meeting in recent months Change in rank of a key department director hints at reasons and timing of first unpublicized gathering since last year Martin Weiser December 9, 2021 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Rodong Sinmun, Dec. 2, 2021 \| Kim Jong Un presides over the Fifth Political Bureau Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, held at the headquarters building of the Party Central Committee on Dec. 1 On the surface, last week’s meeting of the politburo of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) apparently took place for the sole purpose of preparing for another meeting of the full Central Committee later in the month. Yet this confab also produced a bombshell: It was this year’s fifth meeting of the politburo. This means that a fourth meeting was held in secret sometime after the third meeting on Sept. 2. Before this revelation, state media had not given any hints that the politburo had held a secret meeting, and the reasons why the Read More © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01How Assad’s downfall could expose secrets of North Korea-Syria military ties 02All the companies that participated in the Pyongyang Autumn Trade Fair 2024 03No Chinese firms joined North Korea’s latest trade fair dominated by Russia 04What defectors’ exam scores reveal about the quality of North Korean health care 05North Korean Il-76 cargo planes make rare flights to northeast coast 06From aid to academia: The status of foreign organizations in North Korea 07North Korea expanding rail access to airport near Wonsan mega resort: Imagery 08Assad’s fall deprives North Korea of a fellow pariah, but its focus is elsewhere 09How Seoul’s new L-SAM interceptor boosts defenses against North Korean missiles 10Where things stand with the diplomatic community in North Korea

Analysis

Why North Korea’s politburo held a secret meeting in recent months

Change in rank of a key department director hints at reasons and timing of first unpublicized gathering since last year

Martin Weiser December 9, 2021

Why North Korea’s politburo held a secret meeting in recent months

Rodong Sinmun, Dec. 2, 2021 | Kim Jong Un presides over the Fifth Political Bureau Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, held at the headquarters building of the Party Central Committee on Dec. 1

On the surface, last week’s meeting of the politburo of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) apparently took place for the sole purpose of preparing for another meeting of the full Central Committee later in the month.

Yet this confab also produced a bombshell: It was this year’s fifth meeting of the politburo. This means that a fourth meeting was held in secret sometime after the third meeting on Sept. 2.

Before this revelation, state media had not given any hints that the politburo had held a secret meeting, and the reasons why the

Why North Korea’s politburo held a secret meeting in recent months

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Martin Weiser