Kim Jong-un reshuffles first state body

The manager North Korean Kim Jong-un has carried out a major reshuffle within the State Affairs Commission, a body that oversees all other powers, more than a third of whose members have been renewed, official media reported on Monday.

The grandson of the founder of the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea has continued to consolidate his power since he succeeded his father Kim Jong-il in 2011. He is notably chairman of the Affairs Commission State (CAE), of which five of the 13 members have just been replaced. The reshuffle was approved on Sunday by the Supreme People’s Assembly, the North Korean parliament, the official KCNA agency reported on Monday. “This is a fairly broad shake-up of the leadership of the EAC,” said Rachel Lee, a former US administration official and expert on North Korea.

The State Affairs Commission was created in 2016 to replace the powerful National Defense Commission (CDN), which was the highest political decision-making body. Photos published by the North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun show hundreds of members of the Supreme People’s Assembly sitting close to each other. None wears a mask.

“Not a single case” of coronavirus

A government statement also reaffirms North Korea’s consistent position that “not a single case” of the new coronavirus has developed on its soil, even as the epidemic from neighboring China has spread to almost all the countries of the world.

Pyongyang placed thousands of North Koreans and hundreds of foreigners, including diplomats, in containment and carried out major disinfection operations to avoid an epidemic which, according to experts, would be catastrophic in a country with a health system notoriously faulty. “The state’s campaign against the epidemic will be intensified to prevent the spread of Covid-19,” the government said in its statement.

KCNA did not mention the presence of Kim Jong-un at the meeting. And we don’t see it in the photos either. “The fact that North Korea has maintained the assembly meeting suggests that the country wants to show that it has confidence in its ability to cope with the coronavirus crisis,” said Rachel Lee to the AFP. “The fact that the participants were not wearing a mask goes in the same direction. “

Among those entering the State Affairs Committee is Ri Son Gwon, a former army officer who was appointed head of the foreign ministry earlier this year. His predecessor, seasoned diplomat Ri Yong Ho, was ousted from the Commission, as was former Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong.