North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party of Korea has recently promoted two high-ranking officials. Hwang Pyong So and Ri Jae Il were both listed as First Deputy Director (or First Vice Director) of WPK departments in a March 21 KCNA report on Kim Jong Un visiting two hospitals.
While Ri has historically been more associated with Kim Jong Il’s era, having risen to the upper ranks of the party in the ’90s, he appears to be trusted by Kim Jong Un. Hwang, on the other hand, is a part of the “third-generation leadership” associated with the younger Kim.
North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party of Korea has recently promoted two high-ranking officials. Hwang Pyong So and Ri Jae Il were both listed as First Deputy Director (or First Vice Director) of WPK departments in a March 21 KCNA report on Kim Jong Un visiting two hospitals.
While Ri has historically been more associated with Kim Jong Il’s era, having risen to the upper ranks of the party in the ’90s, he appears to be trusted by Kim Jong Un. Hwang, on the other hand, is a part of the “third-generation leadership” associated with the younger Kim.
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John G. Grisafi is an analyst and Korean linguist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Having previously worked as an analyst for the United States Army in South Korea and studied Korean at the Defense Language Institute, he is now majoring in East Asian Languages & Civilization and History at the University of Pennsylvania.