NK News (file photo) | North Koreans fiercely waving their country's flag in 2019
By far the most serious revision in the new Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) rules is the creation of the “first secretary” position, along with other measures that appear to prepare for the death or incapacitation of Kim Jong Un.
But the new statutes also contain a number of other meaningful revisions that warrant consideration, including the elimination of any mention of the Kim family, the softening of Pyongyang’s rhetoric toward Seoul and the reappearance of “communism” as a part of the official state ideology.
Taken together, these revisions paint a picture of continuing
By far the most serious revision in the new Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) rules is the creation of the “first secretary” position, along with other measures that appear to prepare for the death or incapacitation of Kim Jong Un.
But the new statutes also contain a number of other meaningful revisions that warrant consideration, including the elimination of any mention of the Kim family, the softening of Pyongyang’s rhetoric toward Seoul and the reappearance of “communism” as a part of the official state ideology.
Andrei Lankov is a Director at NK News and writes exclusively for the site as one of the world's leading authorities on North Korea. A graduate of Leningrad State University, he attended Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung University from 1984-5 - an experience you can read about here. In addition to his writing, he is also a Professor at Kookmin University.