North Korea's Kim Jong-un fires vice premier, publicly rebukes officials
Jan 21, 2026
Pyongyang [North Korea], January 21: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has fired a senior official tasked with economic policy and condemned "incompetent" party members, according to state media, in a rare public rebuke of officials in the secretive state.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim had dismissed Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho during the inauguration ceremony of the first stage of a modernisation project at the Ryongsong Machine Complex. During the visit to the industrial machinery complex on Monday, Kim also blasted officials whom he blamed for delays in the modernisation project. He also slammed party members who, for "too long", had "been accustomed to defeatism, irresponsibility and passiveness". (Agencies)
Source: Qatar Tribune
